There's a handful of retro games on Nintendo Switch Online that are Japanese exclusive. You can still play these games even if you have your subscription tied to a European or a Japanese account by creating a new Japanese account and then downloading the Japanese versions of the NSO apps. Here's a list of all of the Japanese games and how much Japanese you need to know to be able to play them.

Famicom

Adventures of Lolo 2

• Japanese required: None
• Note: This game was released in North America and Europe as "Adventures of Lolo," as the game titled "Adventures of Lolo" in North America and Europe was not released at all in Japan.

Atlantis no Nazo

• Japanese required: None
• Note: This is a famous kusoge, or "shitty game." Completely unfair and ruthlessly difficult. Not recommended unless you want an extreme challenge.

Clu Clu Land: Welcome to New Cluclu Land

• Japanese required: None
• Note: This is an updated version of Clu Clu Land that was released for the Famicom Disk System.

Downtown Nekketsu Kōshinkyoku: Soreyuke Daiundōkai

• Japanese required: Some, mainly just menus
• Note: Title translates to "Downtown Nekketsu March: Super Awesome Field Day". Part of the Downtown series that includes River City Ransom.

Famicom Wars

• Japanese required: Lots of menus
• Note: The first game in the "Advance Wars" series.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Note: The first in the Fire Emblem series, an official translation was released but is no longer available for sale.

Joy Mech Fight

• Japanese required: Some, mainly just menus
• Note: Where Sukapon from Smash Bros. originates. A vs. fighting game.

Route-16 Turbo

• Japanese required: None
• Note: A remake of a 1981 arcade game. Very simple but fun driving maze chase game.

Smash Ping Pong

• Japanese required: None
• Note: Released in Europe previously as Konami's Ping Pong.

Tsuppari Oozumou

• Japanese required: Some, mainly just menus
• Note: A sumo game that's very famous in Japan.

Yie Ar Kung-Fu

• Japanese required: None
• Note: Never officially released in the west but a staple of pirate cartridges and systems.

Super Famicom

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Note: The fourth game in the Fire Emblem series.

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Note: The third game in the Fire Emblem series.

Harvest Moon

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Note: The first game in the Harvest Moon series now known as Story of Seasons. Natsume owns the Harvest Moon name and Marvelous owns the games so it's unlikely this will ever be released in English on NSO. More information on the IP here.

Kirby no Kirakira Kizzu

• Japanese required: Some, mainly just menus
• Note: A port of Kirby Star Stacker with a Kirby's Dream Land 3 theme.

Kunio-kun no Dodgeball da yo Zen'in Shūgō

• Japanese required: Some, mainly just menus
• Notes: A sequel to Super Dodgeball for NES.

Shin Megami Tensei

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Note: The first game in the Shin Megami Tensei series.

Shin Megami Tensei II

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Note: The second game in the Shin Megami Tensei series.

Shin Megami Tensei if...

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Note: A spinoff of the Shin Megami Tensei series, often considered to be a precursor to the Persona series.

Sugoi Hebereke

• Japanese required: Some, mainly just menus
• Notes: A top-down vs. fighting game staring the characters from the Hebereke game series.

Umihara Kawase

• Japanese required: None
• Notes: The first game in the Umihara Kawase series, a puzzle platformer where you play as a girl with a fishing rod.

Nintendo 64

Custom Robo

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Notes: The first game in the Custom Robo series. The game released in the West as Custom Robo is Custom Robo 3.

Custom Robo V2

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Notes: The second game in the Custom Robo series.

Harvest Moon 64

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Note: Natsume owns the Harvest Moon name and Marvelous owns the games so it's unlikely this will ever be released in English on NSO. More information on the IP here.

Game Boy

Yakuman

• Japanese required: Game is entirely in Japanese and requires knowledge of Mahjong
• Notes: A Game Boy launch title in Japan, play mahjong either against the computer or with other players.

Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (Announced, not yet released)

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Notes: A precursor to The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Known as The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Game Boy Advance

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (Announced, not yet released)

• Japanese required: Story based, lots of text
• Notes: The sixth game in the Fire Emblem series.

After spending the majority of my campaigning energy so far towards the north of our great United Kingdom, in Yorkshire and more recently in Scotland, it is my pleasure to venture slightly more south for a change. The great city of London is one with perhaps an unrivalled culture and history than anywhere in the world in my view, and it is an absolute treat to come down here to visit every time I do. Fortunately as an MP I get to come here quite often, to enjoy the sights and represent my constituents in the seat of power of the oldest democracy in the world.
There are well over 100 candidates standing in this election, multiple in this seat alone - in North and West London - and each and every one of those are fighting in the battle of ideas to try and change things for what they see as the best way forward. Well, I can say with the utmost confidence that our candidate for North and West London - NerdayTurday - is the right woman for the job. She has fought hard this term to push internal party policy on the matter of equality, and her reforms have been central to that section of our manifesto. We are fortunate to have candidates such as NerdayTurday who deeply care about the area that they are standing for and who want to make a difference.
If you vote for NerdayTurday and the Conservatives you can be assured that North and West London will get a local representative who cares about them.

I guess this is just a rant but recently things have kind of come to a head in my life with where I live and my workplace and the rampant fatphobia I have to deal with every day has really taken a toll on me.
For context, I live in a small city in the north of England, very touristy. I came here because it felt like a very safe place to live and because I love history and this is a very old city. However, what I was not prepared for was the downright hostility from tourists and locals alike.
Frequently, I am mocked for my appearance. People shout things at me from cars, smirk and laugh at me, subtly try to take pictures of me. Often whenever I go out - whether I am wearing bright colours, alternative clothing or just my usual work clothes - people will stare and glare directly into my face, often forcing me to look at them and they don't look away when I look back at them. They give me up-and-down looks and glower at me and it makes me feel ashamed. Men often harass me, either verbally, making fun of the way I walk, etc. My appearance seeps into every interaction I have. I often find cashiers sizing me up before I even get to the register and god forbid I eat alone or go to a coffee shop, because people are always eyeballing me in unfriendly ways.
I walk with a cane because of a chronic illness sometimes and I know the bullying is particularly acute when I have dyed my hair and when I'm wearing "weird" clothing (sometimes it's genuinely alternative fashion and then sometimes it's just a pink jumper or something). I also don't wear make-up and people frequently assume I'm gay (I'm bi) especially when I'm out with my friend who is very obviously non-binary. So I know there is more than just weight going on, that it's my whole appearance, but weight seems to be the main sticking point as I don't think I would get as extreme a reaction if I was skinny girl wearing some colourful dungarees for example.
I am just so tired of all of it. And I am sick of being told "it's just anxiety" or that I'm "overthinking it" like no, I know the difference between a curious glance/a prolonged glare of contempt. What the hell is wrong with people that my very presence promotes so much passive aggressive bullying.
The only time I (ironically) feel safe from this is in rather large cities like Leeds, Manchester and London (despite their reputation for being rather rough). I might get the occasional glance but overall no one really cares. Go to anywhere smaller though and people are extremely hostile. The only reprieve I've found is being with a large group of friends so I can't be singled out or when I've been dating men, having a man around warns (especially other men) people off sometimes. Even then though, people will often stare in disbelief when they see me holding hands with a guy, like it's some great miracle he took pity on me.
This has just left me feeling rather disillusioned about the UK and humanity in general. I never want to go into town anymore because then I am just constantly battling the stares and glares. It's very saddening considering that Yorkshire and the North of England in general have a reputation for being a lot friendly than the South whereas I've objectively had an easier time in places like London, Oxford and Cambridge than I have in Yorkshire.
I have even thought of leaving the country (not just because of this) before I am reminded how violently fatphobic the rest of the world is. Is this really as good as it gets?

Notes:

• I am EXTREMELY busy, but I check my messages and DMs at least ONCE per day. Please be patient and wait at least 24 hours for my response if I don't get back to you immediately.
  
• I buy only in Unrevealed Key Link Format or Plain Steam Keys. No gift links.
  
• For PayPal, I am in the US region and I only send via G&S. Please note there will be PayPal fees (including international/conversion and purchasing fees) to consider.
  
• All games that you sell to me should ideally be REGION-FREE. Please ensure the games are not region-locked/bound to a specific country.
  
• You must be willing to fill a spreadsheet with steam keys.
  

 
I pay with the following:
TF2 & PayPal
 

I BUY HB Games	with TF2	with PayPal	Currently Active Humble Bundle?
- Ratz Instagib -	0.8 TF2	$1.72 PP	-
20XX	0.4 TF2	$0.88 PP	-
5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel	2.5 TF2	$5.19 PP	-
60 Parsecs!	0.8 TF2	$1.55 PP	-
7 Billion Humans	1.4 TF2	$2.93 PP	-
7 Days to Die	1.1 TF2	$2.2 PP	-
A Game of Thrones: The Board Game - Digital Edition	1.4 TF2	$2.93 PP	-
A Hat in Time	4.4 TF2	$8.98 PP	-
A Juggler's Tale	0.5 TF2	$1.07 PP	-
A Plague Tale: Innocence	1.5 TF2	$3.01 PP	-
AMID EVIL	0.6 TF2	$1.18 PP	-
AO Tennis 2	0.8 TF2	$1.59 PP	-
Age of Empires Definitive Edition	1.0 TF2	$1.99 PP	-
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition	1.7 TF2	$3.51 PP	-
Age of Wonders: Planetfall - Deluxe Edition	0.4 TF2	$0.91 PP	-
Age of Wonders: Planetfall	0.5 TF2	$1.03 PP	-
Airport CEO	1.0 TF2	$2.16 PP	-
Alan Wake Collector's Edition	0.8 TF2	$1.67 PP	-
Alien: Isolation	1.7 TF2	$3.49 PP	-
Aliens: Colonial Marines Collection	1.2 TF2	$2.46 PP	-
Among Us	1.5 TF2	$3.06 PP	-
Among the Sleep - Enhanced Edition	0.4 TF2	$0.85 PP	-
Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey	2.1 TF2	$4.26 PP	-
Aragami	0.5 TF2	$0.94 PP	-
Arizona Sunshine	2.1 TF2	$4.25 PP	-
Arma 3 Apex Edition	1.6 TF2	$3.31 PP	-
Arma 3 Contact Edition	2.4 TF2	$4.95 PP	-
Arma 3 Jets	0.8 TF2	$1.75 PP	-
Arma 3 Marksmen	0.8 TF2	$1.75 PP	-
Arma 3	1.8 TF2	$3.67 PP	-
Assetto Corsa Competizione	2.7 TF2	$5.69 PP	-
Assetto Corsa Ultimate Edition	2.8 TF2	$5.8 PP	-
Assetto Corsa	0.9 TF2	$1.94 PP	-
Automobilista 2	3.5 TF2	$7.22 PP	-
BATTLETECH - Mercenary Collection	1.5 TF2	$3.02 PP	-
BIGFOOT	4.4 TF2	$8.98 PP	-
BIOMUTANT	1.9 TF2 Refer To My Other Thread	$3.88 PP Refer To My Other Thread	Humble Choice (Mar 2023)
BPM: BULLETS PER MINUTE	0.6 TF2	$1.23 PP	-
BROFORCE	0.8 TF2	$1.67 PP	-
Baba Is You	1.6 TF2	$3.34 PP	-
Back 4 Blood	4.5 TF2	$9.25 PP	-
Bad North: Jotunn Edition	0.9 TF2	$1.78 PP	-
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition	0.4 TF2	$0.88 PP	-
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition	0.4 TF2	$0.78 PP	-
Bang-On Balls: Chronicles	3.0 TF2	$6.19 PP	-
Banished	2.2 TF2	$4.47 PP	-
Barn Finders	1.4 TF2	$2.87 PP	-
Barotrauma	6.6 TF2	$13.67 PP	-
Batman - The Telltale Series	0.9 TF2	$1.92 PP	-
Batman Arkham Collection	1.3 TF2	$2.62 PP	-
Batman: Arkham Knight	0.5 TF2	$1.13 PP	-
Batman: The Enemy Within - The Telltale Series	1.0 TF2	$1.97 PP	-
Batman™: Arkham Knight Premium Edition	2.1 TF2	$4.42 PP	-
Batman™: Arkham Origins	0.8 TF2	$1.57 PP	-
Batman™: Arkham VR	0.7 TF2	$1.52 PP	-
Battle Chasers: Nightwar	0.6 TF2	$1.22 PP	-
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II	1.6 TF2	$3.21 PP	-
Battlefleet Gothic: Armada	0.8 TF2	$1.75 PP	-
Battlestar Galactica Deadlock	0.5 TF2	$1.01 PP	-
Battlezone Gold Edition	2.1 TF2	$4.3 PP	-
Besiege	1.6 TF2	$3.25 PP	-
Beyond Blue	2.0 TF2	$4.17 PP	-
Beyond Two Souls	1.8 TF2	$3.62 PP	-
BioShock Collection	1.1 TF2	$2.26 PP	-
BioShock Infinite	0.8 TF2	$1.75 PP	-
BioShock Remastered	0.9 TF2	$1.85 PP	-
Bioshock Infinite: Season Pass	0.7 TF2	$1.35 PP	-
Blair Witch	1.1 TF2	$2.27 PP	-
Blasphemous	1.0 TF2	$2.02 PP	-
Blood Bowl 2 - Legendary Edition	0.7 TF2	$1.53 PP	-
Blood Bowl 2	0.5 TF2	$1.03 PP	-
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night	1.4 TF2	$2.94 PP	-
Boomerang Fu	0.6 TF2	$1.26 PP	-
Borderlands 2 VR	6.0 TF2	$12.34 PP	-
Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition	2.9 TF2	$6.06 PP	-
Borderlands 3	1.5 TF2	$3.11 PP	-
Borderlands 3: Director's Cut	1.4 TF2	$2.8 PP	-
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection	3.3 TF2	$6.77 PP	-
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel	0.6 TF2	$1.17 PP	-
Brutal Legend	0.6 TF2	$1.22 PP	-
Bus Simulator 18	2.2 TF2	$4.56 PP	-
CHUCHEL Cherry Edition	0.5 TF2	$0.99 PP	-
Call of Cthulhu	0.8 TF2	$1.58 PP	-
Call of Duty: WWII	11.5 TF2	$23.77 PP	-
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger	0.5 TF2	$1.06 PP	-
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront	6.0 TF2	$12.33 PP	-
Car Mechanic Simulator 2018	0.8 TF2	$1.55 PP	-
Carcassonne - Tiles & Tactics	0.6 TF2	$1.23 PP	-
Carmageddon: Max Damage	0.4 TF2	$0.81 PP	-
Celeste	1.8 TF2	$3.62 PP	-
Chess Ultra	0.7 TF2	$1.48 PP	-
Children of Morta	0.5 TF2	$1.06 PP	-
Chivalry 2	3.2 TF2	$6.71 PP	-
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare	0.5 TF2	$0.94 PP	-
Chronicon	1.8 TF2	$3.76 PP	-
Cities: Skylines Deluxe Edition	1.5 TF2	$3.12 PP	-
Clone Drone in the Danger Zone	3.4 TF2	$6.96 PP	-
ClusterTruck	0.3 TF2	$0.71 PP	-
Code Vein	1.6 TF2	$3.3 PP	-
Coffee Talk	2.1 TF2	$4.25 PP	-
Company of Heroes 2 - The Western Front Armies	0.7 TF2	$1.52 PP	-
Company of Heroes 2	0.4 TF2	$0.91 PP	-
Company of Heroes Complete Pack	5.5 TF2	$11.43 PP	-
Company of Heroes	1.5 TF2	$3.07 PP	-
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts	0.8 TF2	$1.55 PP	-
Conan Exiles	1.6 TF2	$3.3 PP	-
Construction Simulator 2015	1.0 TF2	$2.04 PP	-
Contagion	0.5 TF2	$1.11 PP	-
Control Ultimate Edition	1.8 TF2	$3.68 PP	-
Crash Bandicoot™ N. Sane Trilogy	7.5 TF2	$15.37 PP	-
Creaks	0.4 TF2	$0.73 PP	-
Creed: Rise to Glory™	2.2 TF2	$4.54 PP	-
Crusader Kings II: Royal Collection	2.7 TF2	$5.49 PP	-
Crusader Kings III	4.0 TF2	$8.18 PP	-
Crysis® 2 Maximum Edition	1.0 TF2	$2.05 PP	-
Cultist Simulator Anthology Edition	2.5 TF2	$5.07 PP	-
Cultist Simulator	0.6 TF2	$1.26 PP	-
DARK SOULS™ III Deluxe Edition	17.4 TF2	$35.94 PP	-
DEATHLOOP	2.3 TF2	$4.68 PP	-
DIRT 5	4.1 TF2	$8.46 PP	-
DMC - Devil May Cry	0.7 TF2	$1.42 PP	-
DRAGON BALL FIGHTERZ - Ultimate Edition	3.8 TF2	$7.85 PP	-
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2	1.7 TF2	$3.47 PP	-
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE	0.7 TF2	$1.34 PP	-
DRAGONBALL XENOVERSE Bundle Edition	1.1 TF2	$2.35 PP	-
DRIFT21	0.5 TF2	$1.04 PP	-
Dark Deity	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin	9.1 TF2	$17.31 PP	-
Dark Souls III	11.5 TF2	$23.68 PP	-
Darkest Dungeon	0.7 TF2	$1.24 PP	-
Darksiders Genesis	1.2 TF2	$2.41 PP	-
Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition	0.6 TF2	$1.19 PP	-
Darksiders III	0.8 TF2	$1.6 PP	-
Day of the Tentacle Remastered	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
DayZ	6.3 TF2	$12.95 PP	-
Dead Estate	1.5 TF2	$3.13 PP	-
Dead Island - Definitive Edition	0.8 TF2	$1.68 PP	-
Dead Island Definitive Collection	1.4 TF2	$2.81 PP	-
Dead Island Riptide - Definitive Edition	0.3 TF2	$0.72 PP	-
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record	1.0 TF2	$1.99 PP	-
Dead Rising 3 Apocalypse Edition	2.0 TF2	$4.02 PP	-
Dead Rising 4	0.8 TF2	$1.73 PP	-
Dead Rising® 2	1.0 TF2	$2.13 PP	-
Dead Space	3.0 TF2	$6.15 PP	-
Death Road to Canada	1.2 TF2	$2.55 PP	-
Death's Gambit	0.7 TF2	$1.47 PP	-
Deep Rock Galactic	4.2 TF2	$8.71 PP	-
Descenders	0.7 TF2	$1.26 PP	-
Desperados III	1.1 TF2	$2.23 PP	-
Destroy All Humans	0.7 TF2	$1.42 PP	-
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut	1.2 TF2	$2.51 PP	-
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided	1.2 TF2	$2.53 PP	-
Devil May Cry HD Collection	1.4 TF2	$2.93 PP	-
Devil May Cry® 4 Special Edition	1.4 TF2	$2.94 PP	-
DiRT Rally 2.0	4.4 TF2	$8.99 PP	-
Dinosaur Fossil Hunter	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Distance	0.7 TF2	$1.53 PP	-
Distant Worlds: Universe	0.6 TF2	$1.32 PP	-
Doom Eternal	2.0 TF2	$4.21 PP	-
Door Kickers	1.1 TF2	$2.23 PP	-
Dorfromantik	2.0 TF2	$4.07 PP	-
Dragons Dogma - Dark Arisen	0.8 TF2	$1.69 PP	-
Drake Hollow	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Drone Swarm	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Dungeon Defenders	1.3 TF2	$2.74 PP	-
Dungeon Defenders: Awakened	5.9 TF2	$12.24 PP	-
Dungreed	0.9 TF2	$1.85 PP	-
Duskers	0.5 TF2	$1.01 PP	-
EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 4.1 The Shadow of New Despair	2.3 TF2	$4.68 PP	-
ELEX	0.7 TF2	$1.51 PP	-
EVERSPACE™	0.8 TF2	$1.62 PP	-
Elite: Dangerous	1.7 TF2	$3.6 PP	-
Empire of Sin	1.2 TF2	$2.51 PP	-
Euro Truck Simulator 2	1.4 TF2	$2.83 PP	-
Europa Universalis IV	1.1 TF2	$2.24 PP	-
Exanima	2.4 TF2	$4.87 PP	-
FTL: Faster Than Light	1.3 TF2	$2.6 PP	-
Fallout 76	2.0 TF2	$4.13 PP	-
Fantasy General II	0.5 TF2	$0.99 PP	-
Farming Simulator 17	0.5 TF2	$1.13 PP	-
Firefighting Simulator - The Squad	6.7 TF2	$13.8 PP	-
First Class Trouble	0.4 TF2	$0.84 PP	-
For The King	0.7 TF2	$1.51 PP	-
Forager	1.4 TF2	$2.91 PP	-
Forts	2.6 TF2	$5.35 PP	-
Friday the 13th: The Game	2.4 TF2	$5.05 PP	-
Frostpunk	1.2 TF2	$2.46 PP	-
Furi	0.7 TF2	$1.46 PP	-
GOD EATER 2 Rage Burst	2.1 TF2	$4.25 PP	-
GRID - Ultimate	1.0 TF2	$2.06 PP	-
GRIS	0.4 TF2	$0.85 PP	-
Gamedec	0.4 TF2	$0.86 PP	-
Gang Beasts	2.9 TF2	$5.95 PP	-
Garden Paws	0.9 TF2	$1.79 PP	-
Gas Station Simulator	1.6 TF2	$3.23 PP	-
Gears 5	4.7 TF2	$9.65 PP	-
Gears Tactics	4.3 TF2	$8.95 PP	-
Generation Zero®	1.2 TF2	$2.51 PP	-
Goat Simulator	0.5 TF2	$0.93 PP	-
Godlike Burger	1.4 TF2	$2.88 PP	-
Golf With Your Friends	1.2 TF2	$2.42 PP	-
Gordian Quest	1.8 TF2	$3.61 PP	-
Gotham Knights	5.3 TF2	$10.96 PP	-
GreedFall	0.9 TF2	$1.77 PP	-
Grim Dawn	3.7 TF2	$7.64 PP	-
Grim Fandango Remastered	0.5 TF2	$1.13 PP	-
Guacamelee! 2	0.6 TF2	$1.28 PP	-
HITMAN™2 Gold Edition	2.9 TF2	$5.89 PP	-
HIVESWAP: Act 2	2.0 TF2	$4.2 PP	-
HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™	1.6 TF2	$3.2 PP	-
Hacknet	0.4 TF2	$0.91 PP	-
Haiku, the Robot	1.5 TF2	$3.12 PP	-
Hard Bullet	1.0 TF2	$1.99 PP	-
Hearts of Iron III Collection	0.5 TF2	$0.99 PP	-
Hearts of Iron IV: Battle for the Bosporus	1.7 TF2	$3.46 PP	-
Hearts of Iron IV: Cadet Edition	2.2 TF2	$4.48 PP	-
Hearts of Iron IV: Death or Dishonor	0.9 TF2	$1.78 PP	-
Hearts of Iron IV: Waking the Tiger	1.4 TF2	$2.98 PP	-
Heave Ho	0.6 TF2	$1.14 PP	-
Heavy Rain	1.8 TF2	$3.66 PP	-
Hell Let Loose	7.0 TF2	$14.41 PP	-
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice	0.9 TF2	$1.85 PP	-
Hello, Neighbor!	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Hero's Hour	0.8 TF2 Refer To My Other Thread	$1.57 PP Refer To My Other Thread	Humble Choice (Mar 2023)
Heroes of Hammerwatch	0.6 TF2	$1.14 PP	-
Hitman Absolution	0.7 TF2	$1.34 PP	-
Hitman Game of the Year Edition	1.2 TF2	$2.57 PP	-
Hollow Knight	2.7 TF2	$5.47 PP	-
Homefront	0.5 TF2	$0.99 PP	-
Homefront: The Revolution	0.9 TF2	$1.78 PP	-
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak	0.4 TF2	$0.78 PP	-
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number Digital Special Edition	0.6 TF2	$1.24 PP	-
Hotline Miami	0.8 TF2	$1.58 PP	-
House Flipper VR	0.9 TF2	$1.77 PP	-
House Flipper	2.6 TF2	$5.28 PP	-
Human Resource Machine	1.5 TF2	$3.0 PP	-
Human: Fall Flat	0.7 TF2	$1.55 PP	-
HuniePop	0.4 TF2	$0.91 PP	-
Huntdown	1.3 TF2	$2.6 PP	-
Hurtworld	2.0 TF2	$4.14 PP	-
Hyper Light Drifter	1.6 TF2	$3.28 PP	-
Hypnospace Outlaw	0.8 TF2	$1.6 PP	-
I Am Fish	0.4 TF2	$0.84 PP	-
I Expect You To Die	1.3 TF2	$2.72 PP	-
I-NFECTED	6.0 TF2	$12.52 PP	-
Imperator: Rome Deluxe Edition	1.0 TF2	$2.14 PP	-
Imperator: Rome	0.5 TF2	$1.03 PP	-
Injustice 2 Legendary Edition	1.2 TF2	$2.39 PP	-
Injustice 2	1.1 TF2	$2.27 PP	-
Into the Radius VR	5.3 TF2	$10.88 PP	-
Ion Fury	1.5 TF2	$3.12 PP	-
Iron Harvest	0.9 TF2	$1.82 PP	-
Jalopy	0.7 TF2	$1.51 PP	-
Job Simulator	8.9 TF2	$18.38 PP	-
Jurassic World Evolution 2	2.2 TF2 Refer To My Other Thread	$4.6 PP Refer To My Other Thread	Humble Choice (Mar 2023)
Jurassic World Evolution	0.7 TF2	$1.46 PP	-
Just Cause 2	0.5 TF2	$1.06 PP	-
Just Cause 3 XXL Edition	1.0 TF2	$2.16 PP	-
Just Cause 4: Complete Edition	1.5 TF2	$3.05 PP	-
Just Die Already	0.3 TF2	$0.71 PP	-
KartKraft	3.1 TF2	$6.29 PP	-
Katamari Damacy REROLL	1.1 TF2	$2.25 PP	-
Katana ZERO	1.1 TF2	$2.27 PP	-
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes	2.7 TF2	$5.62 PP	-
Kerbal Space Program	0.6 TF2	$1.33 PP	-
Killer Instinct	7.9 TF2	$16.37 PP	-
Killing Floor 2 Digital Deluxe Edition	0.9 TF2	$1.94 PP	-
Killing Floor 2 Digital Deluxe Edition	0.9 TF2	$1.94 PP	-
Killing Floor 2	0.6 TF2	$1.22 PP	-
Killing Floor	0.6 TF2	$1.16 PP	-
Kingdom Come: Deliverance	1.4 TF2	$2.94 PP	-
Kingdom: Two Crowns	0.7 TF2	$1.46 PP	-
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning	0.9 TF2	$1.9 PP	-
King’s Bounty : Ultimate Edition	0.8 TF2	$1.74 PP	-
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Premium Edition	0.5 TF2	$1.01 PP	-
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
LEGO Batman Trilogy	1.4 TF2	$2.98 PP	-
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4	0.6 TF2	$1.15 PP	-
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7	0.7 TF2	$1.45 PP	-
LEGO Lord of the Rings	0.4 TF2	$0.81 PP	-
LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	0.5 TF2	$1.02 PP	-
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga	0.5 TF2	$1.13 PP	-
LEGO® City Undercover	0.8 TF2	$1.54 PP	-
LEGO® DC Super-Villains Deluxe Edition	1.9 TF2	$3.94 PP	-
LEGO® DC Super-Villains	0.4 TF2	$0.85 PP	-
LEGO® Jurassic World™	0.4 TF2	$0.83 PP	-
LEGO® MARVEL's Avengers	0.4 TF2	$0.77 PP	-
LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes 2 Deluxe Edition	1.2 TF2	$2.37 PP	-
LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes 2	0.4 TF2	$0.91 PP	-
LEGO® Ninjago® Movie Video Game	0.3 TF2	$0.71 PP	-
LEGO® Star Wars™: The Force Awakens	0.6 TF2	$1.19 PP	-
LEGO® Worlds	1.8 TF2	$3.65 PP	-
Labyrinth City: Pierre the Maze Detective	0.7 TF2	$1.48 PP	-
Late Shift	0.5 TF2	$0.97 PP	-
Layers of Fear 2	3.5 TF2	$7.17 PP	-
Layers of Fear	0.5 TF2	$1.1 PP	-
Legion TD 2	1.6 TF2	$3.3 PP	-
Len's Island	2.9 TF2	$6.1 PP	-
Lethal League Blaze	0.9 TF2	$1.93 PP	-
Lethal League	0.8 TF2	$1.59 PP	-
Library Of Ruina	3.1 TF2	$6.43 PP	-
Life is Feudal: Your Own	0.4 TF2	$0.84 PP	-
Life is Strange Complete Season (Episodes 1-5)	4.6 TF2	$9.46 PP	-
Little Misfortune	2.7 TF2	$5.48 PP	-
Little Nightmares Complete Edition	1.6 TF2	$3.3 PP	-
Lobotomy Corporation Monster Management Simulation	4.9 TF2	$10.14 PP	-
Lords of the Fallen Game of the Year Edition	0.8 TF2	$1.72 PP	-
Lost Ember	1.3 TF2	$2.76 PP	-
Lost Planet™: Extreme Condition	1.8 TF2	$3.61 PP	-
Luck be a Landlord	2.7 TF2	$5.49 PP	-
METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN	0.9 TF2	$1.91 PP	-
METAL GEAR SOLID V: The Definitive Experience	1.3 TF2	$2.6 PP	-
MORTAL KOMBAT 11	1.7 TF2	$3.6 PP	-
MX vs ATV Reflex	0.7 TF2	$1.41 PP	-
MX vs. ATV Unleashed	0.4 TF2	$0.74 PP	-
Mad Max	1.4 TF2	$2.83 PP	-
Mafia II: Definitive Edition	1.7 TF2	$3.59 PP	-
Mafia III: Definitive Edition	2.0 TF2	$4.03 PP	-
Mafia: Definitive Edition	2.2 TF2	$4.56 PP	-
Magicka 2 - Deluxe Edition	0.4 TF2	$0.9 PP	-
Maneater	0.9 TF2	$1.87 PP	-
Manhunt	1.2 TF2	$2.47 PP	-
Mars Horizon	1.0 TF2	$2.06 PP	-
Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition	8.2 TF2	$16.9 PP	-
Max Payne	0.9 TF2	$1.82 PP	-
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries	2.2 TF2	$4.61 PP	-
Medal of Honor	3.4 TF2	$6.98 PP	-
Mega Man Legacy Collection	0.6 TF2	$1.25 PP	-
Men of War: Assault Squad 2 - Deluxe Edition	2.5 TF2	$5.11 PP	-
Men of War: Assault Squad 2 War Chest Edition	1.2 TF2	$2.48 PP	-
Men of War: Assault Squad 2	1.2 TF2	$2.48 PP	-
Messenger	0.7 TF2	$1.54 PP	-
Metro 2033 Redux	0.5 TF2	$1.08 PP	-
Metro Exodus	1.5 TF2	$3.07 PP	-
Metro Redux Bundle	1.1 TF2	$2.25 PP	-
Metro: Last Light Redux	0.6 TF2	$1.33 PP	-
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition	0.8 TF2	$1.71 PP	-
Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Middleearth Shadow of War Definitive Edition	1.2 TF2	$2.43 PP	-
Mirror's Edge	2.4 TF2	$4.91 PP	-
Miscreated	1.4 TF2	$2.91 PP	-
Monster Hunter: World	3.8 TF2	$7.22 PP	-
Monster Sanctuary	0.6 TF2	$1.26 PP	-
Monster Train	0.4 TF2	$0.79 PP	-
Moonlighter	0.5 TF2	$0.93 PP	-
Moons of Madness	1.8 TF2	$3.79 PP	-
Mordhau	1.7 TF2	$3.61 PP	-
Mortal Kombat X	0.7 TF2	$1.51 PP	-
Mortal Kombat XL	1.0 TF2	$2.15 PP	-
Mortal Shell	1.9 TF2	$3.88 PP	-
Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021	0.8 TF2	$1.6 PP	-
Motorsport Manager	1.3 TF2	$2.74 PP	-
Move or Die	0.8 TF2	$1.55 PP	-
Moving Out	1.9 TF2	$3.99 PP	-
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden - Deluxe Edition	1.5 TF2	$3.07 PP	-
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden	0.9 TF2	$1.95 PP	-
My Friend Pedro	0.6 TF2	$1.28 PP	-
My Time At Portia	0.5 TF2	$0.98 PP	-
NASCAR Heat 5 - Ultimate Edition	0.5 TF2	$1.02 PP	-
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4	1.7 TF2	$3.51 PP	-
Naruto to Boruto Shinobi Striker - Deluxe Edition	1.5 TF2	$3.13 PP	-
Naruto to Boruto Shinobi Striker	0.4 TF2	$0.83 PP	-
Necromunda: Hired Gun	0.8 TF2	$1.46 PP	-
Neon Abyss	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Ni no Kuni™ II: Revenant Kingdom - The Prince's Edition	2.6 TF2	$5.38 PP	-
Nine Parchments	1.8 TF2	$3.72 PP	-
No Time to Relax	2.8 TF2	$5.75 PP	-
Northgard	4.5 TF2	$9.29 PP	-
Not For Broadcast	0.9 TF2	$1.85 PP	-
ONE PIECE BURNING BLOOD GOLD EDITION	2.0 TF2	$4.1 PP	-
ONE PIECE BURNING BLOOD	0.8 TF2	$1.7 PP	-
Offworld Trading Company™	0.7 TF2	$1.46 PP	-
One Step From Eden	0.7 TF2	$1.54 PP	-
Opus Magnum	1.3 TF2	$2.58 PP	-
Orcs Must Die! 3	2.1 TF2	$4.35 PP	-
Outlast 2	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Outlast	0.5 TF2	$0.96 PP	-
Outward	1.4 TF2	$2.94 PP	-
Overcooked	0.7 TF2	$1.51 PP	-
Overcooked! 2	1.3 TF2	$2.71 PP	-
Overgrowth	0.5 TF2	$1.02 PP	-
PAYDAY 2	0.4 TF2	$0.9 PP	-
PC Building Simulator	0.8 TF2	$1.6 PP	-
Paint the Town Red	2.1 TF2	$4.27 PP	-
Parkitect	5.3 TF2	$11.0 PP	-
Party Hard 2	0.3 TF2	$0.71 PP	-
Passpartout: The Starving Artist	0.8 TF2	$1.59 PP	-
Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition	1.0 TF2	$2.1 PP	-
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous	0.9 TF2	$1.89 PP	-
Pathologic 2	0.6 TF2	$1.29 PP	-
Per Aspera	0.7 TF2	$1.53 PP	-
Pistol Whip	6.0 TF2	$12.34 PP	-
Plague Inc: Evolved	1.6 TF2	$3.35 PP	-
Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition	0.4 TF2	$0.79 PP	-
Planet Coaster	1.7 TF2	$3.51 PP	-
Planet Zoo	1.8 TF2	$3.82 PP	-
Planetary Annihilation: TITANS	4.7 TF2	$9.65 PP	-
Portal Knights	0.9 TF2	$1.78 PP	-
Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid	3.5 TF2	$7.15 PP	-
PowerBeatsVR	1.0 TF2	$1.99 PP	-
PowerSlave Exhumed	1.6 TF2	$3.32 PP	-
Praey for the Gods	0.5 TF2	$1.11 PP	-
Prehistoric Kingdom	1.4 TF2	$2.93 PP	-
Prison Architect	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Pro Cycling Manager 2019	1.3 TF2	$2.61 PP	-
Project Cars 3	10.9 TF2	$22.36 PP	-
Project Hospital	2.4 TF2	$4.88 PP	-
Project Wingman	1.8 TF2	$3.78 PP	-
Project Winter	0.6 TF2	$1.25 PP	-
Propnight	0.5 TF2 Refer To My Other Thread	$1.04 PP Refer To My Other Thread	Scary Games to Play in the Dark Bundle
Pumpkin Jack	0.4 TF2	$0.84 PP	-
Quantum Break	1.4 TF2	$2.81 PP	-
RESIDENT EVIL 3	2.3 TF2	$4.73 PP	-
RUGBY 20	1.2 TF2	$2.58 PP	-
RWBY: Grimm Eclipse	2.6 TF2	$5.48 PP	-
Ragnaröck	3.3 TF2	$6.87 PP	-
Railway Empire	0.4 TF2	$0.86 PP	-
Rain World	1.0 TF2	$2.17 PP	-
Raw Data	1.0 TF2	$2.02 PP	-
Re:Legend	1.0 TF2	$2.14 PP	-
Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered	0.5 TF2	$0.97 PP	-
Red Matter	4.3 TF2	$8.93 PP	-
Resident Evil / biohazard HD REMASTER	1.2 TF2	$2.57 PP	-
Resident Evil 0 / biohazard 0 HD Remaster	1.2 TF2	$2.53 PP	-
Resident Evil 5 GOLD Edition	1.6 TF2	$3.41 PP	-
Resident Evil 5	1.2 TF2	$2.54 PP	-
Resident Evil 6	2.0 TF2	$4.14 PP	-
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Deluxe Edition	2.1 TF2	$4.28 PP	-
Resident Evil: Revelations	0.5 TF2	$1.02 PP	-
Retro Machina	0.5 TF2	$1.02 PP	-
Rising Storm 2: Vietnam	0.5 TF2	$1.05 PP	-
River City Girls	1.4 TF2	$2.93 PP	-
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos	0.5 TF2	$0.99 PP	-
RollerCoaster Tycoon Deluxe	1.0 TF2	$2.12 PP	-
Rollercoaster Tycoon 2: Triple Thrill Pack	1.8 TF2	$3.65 PP	-
Rubber Bandits	0.7 TF2	$1.52 PP	-
Running with Rifles	1.2 TF2	$2.53 PP	-
Ryse: Son of Rome	1.2 TF2	$2.49 PP	-
SCUM	2.8 TF2	$5.76 PP	-
SOMA	2.0 TF2	$4.14 PP	-
SONG OF HORROR Complete Edition	0.5 TF2	$0.99 PP	-
STAR WARS® THE FORCE UNLEASHED II	0.8 TF2	$1.63 PP	-
STAR WARS™: Squadrons	2.0 TF2	$4.21 PP	-
SUPERHOT	0.8 TF2	$1.59 PP	-
SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Sable	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Saint's Row The Third Remastered	2.2 TF2	$4.51 PP	-
Saints Row 2	0.6 TF2	$1.18 PP	-
Saints Row IV	0.9 TF2	$1.84 PP	-
Saints Row: The Third	0.6 TF2	$1.18 PP	-
Sanctum 2	0.5 TF2	$1.08 PP	-
Satisfactory	6.4 TF2	$13.35 PP	-
Scarlet Nexus	2.9 TF2	$5.91 PP	-
Scribblenauts Unlimited	0.3 TF2	$0.72 PP	-
Second Extinction	1.8 TF2	$3.69 PP	-
Secret Neighbor	0.6 TF2	$1.22 PP	-
Serious Sam 2	0.7 TF2	$1.54 PP	-
Serious Sam 3: BFE	0.9 TF2	$1.82 PP	-
Serious Sam 4	2.7 TF2	$5.52 PP	-
Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem	2.2 TF2	$4.54 PP	-
Severed Steel	1.4 TF2	$2.92 PP	-
Shadow Man Remastered	1.0 TF2	$2.0 PP	-
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun	0.4 TF2	$0.85 PP	-
Shadow Warrior 2	0.8 TF2	$1.59 PP	-
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	2.5 TF2	$5.22 PP	-
Shenmue 3	0.7 TF2	$1.43 PP	-
Shenmue I & II	0.7 TF2	$1.43 PP	-
Shining Resonance Refrain	0.5 TF2	$0.95 PP	-
Sid Meier's Civilization VI : Platinum Edition	2.9 TF2	$5.92 PP	-
Sid Meier's Civilization VI	0.9 TF2	$1.76 PP	-
Sid Meier's Civilization® V: The Complete Edition	2.0 TF2	$4.17 PP	-
Siege of Centauri	0.6 TF2	$1.16 PP	-
SimAirport	2.4 TF2	$4.94 PP	-
SimCasino	1.2 TF2	$2.39 PP	-
SimplePlanes	0.9 TF2	$1.91 PP	-
Skullgirls 2nd Encore	1.0 TF2	$1.99 PP	-
Slap City	1.1 TF2	$2.27 PP	-
Slay the Spire	3.4 TF2	$7.1 PP	-
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition	0.4 TF2	$0.85 PP	-
Slime Rancher	1.9 TF2	$3.88 PP	-
Sniper Elite 3	1.1 TF2	$2.21 PP	-
Sniper Elite 4	1.3 TF2	$2.61 PP	-
Sniper Elite V2 Remastered	0.8 TF2	$1.72 PP	-
Sniper Elite V2	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3	0.7 TF2	$1.39 PP	-
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts	0.8 TF2	$1.66 PP	-
Sonic Adventure DX	0.5 TF2	$1.06 PP	-
Sonic Adventure™ 2	0.6 TF2	$1.19 PP	-
Sonic Generations Collection	2.4 TF2	$4.87 PP	-
Sonic Lost World	1.7 TF2	$3.48 PP	-
Sonic Mania	1.2 TF2	$2.4 PP	-
Sorcery! Parts 1 & 2	0.6 TF2	$1.33 PP	-
Soul Calibur VI	1.1 TF2	$2.27 PP	-
Source of Madness	0.5 TF2	$1.13 PP	-
Space Engineers	2.2 TF2	$4.61 PP	-
Space Haven	0.5 TF2	$1.12 PP	-
Spec Ops: The Line	0.8 TF2	$1.65 PP	-
SpeedRunners	0.7 TF2	$1.36 PP	-
Spelunky	1.0 TF2	$2.11 PP	-
Spirit Of The Island	1.4 TF2	$2.92 PP	-
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated	1.3 TF2	$2.61 PP	-
Spyro™ Reignited Trilogy	3.7 TF2	$7.55 PP	-
Star Renegades	1.4 TF2	$2.94 PP	-
Star Trek: Bridge Crew	3.7 TF2	$7.57 PP	-
Star Wars Republic Commando™	0.3 TF2	$0.71 PP	-
Star Wars® Empire at War™: Gold Pack	1.0 TF2	$2.04 PP	-
Starbound	0.8 TF2	$1.6 PP	-
Starpoint Gemini Warlords	1.7 TF2	$3.48 PP	-
State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition	2.9 TF2	$5.94 PP	-
Staxel	0.8 TF2	$1.57 PP	-
SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech	0.9 TF2	$1.82 PP	-
Stellaris Galaxy Edition	1.4 TF2	$2.92 PP	-
Stellaris	1.4 TF2	$2.83 PP	-
Stellaris: Lithoids Species Pack	1.4 TF2	$2.93 PP	-
Strategic Command WWII: World at War	2.1 TF2	$4.26 PP	-
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection	2.4 TF2	$4.87 PP	-
Street Fighter V	0.9 TF2	$1.91 PP	-
Streets of Rogue	1.2 TF2	$2.46 PP	-
Stronghold 2: Steam Edition	0.8 TF2	$1.59 PP	-
Stronghold Crusader 2	0.7 TF2	$1.45 PP	-
Stronghold Crusader HD	0.4 TF2	$0.91 PP	-
Stronghold Legends: Steam Edition	0.9 TF2	$1.79 PP	-
Styx: Shards Of Darkness	0.3 TF2	$0.71 PP	-
Subnautica	3.9 TF2	$8.1 PP	-
Summer in Mara	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Sunless Skies	0.7 TF2	$1.35 PP	-
Sunset Overdrive	1.4 TF2	$2.94 PP	-
Super Meat Boy	0.4 TF2	$0.73 PP	-
Superliminal	1.7 TF2	$3.6 PP	-
Supraland Six Inches Under	1.6 TF2	$3.37 PP	-
Supreme Commander 2	0.9 TF2	$1.95 PP	-
Surgeon Simulator: Experience Reality	0.9 TF2	$1.84 PP	-
Survive the Nights	0.8 TF2	$1.71 PP	-
Surviving the Aftermath	0.5 TF2	$0.97 PP	-
Sword Art Online Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition	1.4 TF2	$2.91 PP	-
Syberia: The World Before	0.9 TF2	$1.92 PP	-
Synth Riders	3.4 TF2	$6.96 PP	-
TEKKEN 7	1.4 TF2	$2.95 PP	-
THIEF	0.8 TF2	$1.63 PP	-
TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2	1.7 TF2	$3.59 PP	-
Tales of Berseria	0.9 TF2	$1.78 PP	-
Tales of Symphonia	1.5 TF2	$3.06 PP	-
Tales of Zestiria	0.6 TF2	$1.25 PP	-
Talisman: Digital Edition	0.5 TF2	$0.99 PP	-
Tank Mechanic Simulator	1.0 TF2	$2.17 PP	-
Team Sonic Racing™	1.9 TF2	$3.94 PP	-
Telltale Batman Shadows Edition	0.9 TF2	$1.92 PP	-
Terraforming Mars	0.8 TF2	$1.63 PP	-
Terraria	2.1 TF2	$4.24 PP	-
The Ascent	1.0 TF2	$2.12 PP	-
The Battle of Polytopia	0.4 TF2	$0.9 PP	-
The Beast Inside	0.4 TF2	$0.79 PP	-
The Blackout Club	0.5 TF2 Refer To My Other Thread	$0.98 PP Refer To My Other Thread	Scary Games to Play in the Dark Bundle
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope	1.2 TF2	$2.51 PP	-
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan	1.7 TF2	$3.5 PP	-
The Darkness II	0.5 TF2	$0.99 PP	-
The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos	0.4 TF2	$0.89 PP	-
The Escapists 2	0.7 TF2	$1.39 PP	-
The Escapists	0.6 TF2	$1.31 PP	-
The Henry Stickmin Collection	0.7 TF2	$1.51 PP	-
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing Final Cut	1.4 TF2	$2.8 PP	-
The Intruder	1.2 TF2	$2.39 PP	-
The Jackbox Party Pack 2	2.0 TF2	$4.06 PP	-
The Jackbox Party Pack 3	3.4 TF2	$6.93 PP	-
The Jackbox Party Pack 5	3.3 TF2	$6.79 PP	-
The Jackbox Party Pack 6	2.7 TF2	$5.6 PP	-
The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame	0.4 TF2	$0.75 PP	-
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky	1.4 TF2	$2.93 PP	-
The Long Dark	1.4 TF2	$2.86 PP	-
The Long Dark: Survival Edition	0.4 TF2	$0.78 PP	-
The Mortuary Assistant	2.2 TF2 Refer To My Other Thread	$4.5 PP Refer To My Other Thread	Scary Games to Play in the Dark Bundle
The Surge 2	0.7 TF2	$1.45 PP	-
The Survivalists	0.9 TF2	$1.88 PP	-
The Talos Principle	0.7 TF2	$1.41 PP	-
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier	0.3 TF2	$0.71 PP	-
The Walking Dead: The Final Season	0.3 TF2	$0.72 PP	-
The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series	2.0 TF2	$4.22 PP	-
The Witness	6.9 TF2	$14.22 PP	-
The Wolf Among Us	1.2 TF2	$2.39 PP	-
This War of Mine: Complete Edition	0.8 TF2	$1.57 PP	-
Titan Quest Anniversary Edition	0.6 TF2	$1.33 PP	-
Tomb Raider	1.2 TF2	$2.53 PP	-
Torchlight II	0.7 TF2	$1.46 PP	-
Total War SHOGUN 2	1.6 TF2	$3.35 PP	-
Total War Shogun 2 Collection	1.7 TF2	$3.5 PP	-
Total War: ATTILA	1.9 TF2	$3.97 PP	-
Total War: Empire - Definitive Edition	1.5 TF2	$3.11 PP	-
Total War: Napoleon - Definitive Edition	1.5 TF2	$3.02 PP	-
Total War: Rome II - Emperor Edition	2.5 TF2	$5.22 PP	-
Total War™: WARHAMMER®	3.0 TF2	$6.22 PP	-
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator	3.3 TF2	$6.88 PP	-
Totally Reliable Delivery Service	0.8 TF2	$1.59 PP	-
Tour de France 2020	0.5 TF2	$1.12 PP	-
Tower Unite	3.7 TF2	$7.62 PP	-
Trailmakers Deluxe Edition	1.7 TF2	$3.57 PP	-
Train Simulator Classic	0.7 TF2	$1.48 PP	-
Train Station Renovation	0.4 TF2	$0.78 PP	-
Tribes of Midgard	0.9 TF2	$1.79 PP	-
Tricky Towers	1.9 TF2	$3.93 PP	-
Trine 2: Complete Story	1.1 TF2	$2.33 PP	-
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince	0.9 TF2	$1.84 PP	-
Tropico 5	0.4 TF2	$0.82 PP	-
Tropico 5 – Complete Collection	0.8 TF2	$1.65 PP	-
Tropico 6 El-Prez Edition	2.7 TF2	$5.49 PP	-
Tropico 6	3.5 TF2	$7.3 PP	-
Turmoil	0.4 TF2	$0.75 PP	-
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil	0.4 TF2	$0.91 PP	-
Turok	0.4 TF2	$0.92 PP	-
Two Point Hospital	2.1 TF2	$4.28 PP	-
Tyranny - Gold Edition	0.7 TF2	$1.36 PP	-
Ultimate Chicken Horse	1.6 TF2	$3.33 PP	-
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3	1.7 TF2	$3.41 PP	-
Ultra Street Fighter IV	0.5 TF2	$0.95 PP	-
Undertale	2.0 TF2	$4.22 PP	-
Universe Sandbox	3.5 TF2	$7.24 PP	-
Unrailed!	1.7 TF2	$3.49 PP	-
Until You Fall	0.7 TF2	$1.4 PP	-
VTOL VR	5.7 TF2	$11.67 PP	-
Vacation Simulator	5.0 TF2	$10.32 PP	-
Vagante	0.5 TF2	$1.01 PP	-
Valkyria Chronicles 4 Complete Edition	1.0 TF2	$2.13 PP	-
Valkyria Chronicles™	1.0 TF2	$2.0 PP	-
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Human rights: Food for a reformer’s thought ‘HR with no teeth in the UN’
HRR 672
[TLDR (too long didn’t read): If you are reading this, chances are you care about HR. This Reader explores ideas about long overdue UN reform needs. For a quick overview, just read the bolded text]. Traducitraduire los/les Readers; usautiliser deepl.com.

1. Pontificating about the need for UN reform has become a cottage industry in the past few years spurred by a growing recognition that the architecture originally created in the wake of World War II may no longer be fit for purpose. Frustrations that well-intentioned colleagues have with the UN these days play against impossibly high odds in the times of entrenched disparities and a casino economy.
   
2. Some questions arise: Should we seek some consolation in the fact that trying to raise consciousness does occasionally work? Is it enough to get colleagues who claim to be apolitical (and sometimes even opponents) to recognize* that the basic premises of how the international human rights (HR), humanitarian and development system is structured are biased? Where do the humanitarian principles like fairness, neutrality, objectivity, impartiality stand these days at the UN? If they remain on the backburner, why are these explicit UN principles not actually applied?
   

*: Recognizing is only a step in the right direction, but should not the consolation be for them to go beyond recognizing, i.e., for them to become politicized in the direction of human rights?
[My friend Fred chose here to focus on just a couple of key issues of UN reform, like the UN Security Council and the broad array of UN funds, programs and specialized agencies, since these are the most visible parts of the UN System. The list of problems and suggestions below is simply a start and ought to be taken with some huge grains of salt].
The Security Council
Established in October 1945, it. I includes five permanent members (USA, Russia, UK, France and China) and ten temporary members, elected on a rotating basis every two years (in a staggered manner, five per year).

1. 5. Problems:

· Representativity – The world no longer looks like it did 80 years ago, when the winners of WWII could dictate all decisions. The most populous, powerful countries are excluded from a permanent seat (e.g., India, Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Africa, Nigeria, Thailand), especially those in the Global South.
· Member selection to the UNSC – The ten rotating nations selected must receive 2/3 of the vote from the General Assembly, which occasionally results in stalemates, favoritism and exclusions
·
· Veto power – The veto poses an obstacle to meaningful resolutions (so many of them human rights-related!). The veto is used too often and in a self-interested manner. It has literally and historically paralyzed action on sensitive issues (e.g., Vietnam, the Middle EastPalestine, Hungary, Cuba, Panama, Korea, Ukraine......).
· Nuclear power club – The five permanent members are considered ‘legitimate’ nuclear powers despite evidence that nearly a dozen other countries have also developed nuclear capabilities.
· Peace-keeping role – The Security Council’s action on international conflicts is frequently a function of strategic political interests of permanent members.
· Human rights-defending role – Because of all of the above, you can conclude yourself whether HR play an important role in Security Council affairs.
46. Suggestions:
· Expand the number of permanent members or create a ‘semi-permanent’ category for certain states. Alternatively:
· Abolish permanent membership altogether and make all UNSC posts rotational, establishing appropriate geographic and demographic criteria.
· Regularize the rotation of members according to a fixed schedule, without election by the General Assembly.
· Restrict/abolish the Security Council’s veto power. Allow UNSC members to register objections that are sent for resolution at the General Assembly by vote.
· Declare all nuclear weapons illegitimate. Establish a schedule for the progressive decommissioning of nuclear arms. Monitor, inspect, and publicly name and shame violators.
· Put more teeth into peace-establishing and peace-keeping missions by clarifying their mandate, terms of engagement, specific objectives, resources and exit strategy --not missing the opportunity to put HR and humanitarian principles center-stage.
· Appoint a high-level HR expert to the staff of the UNSC to warn members of HR issues being overlooked in its resolutions.
Specialized Agencies, Funds and Programs (Under the aegis of the General Assembly)
- The first three agencies created in 1945 were the World Bank, the IMF and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In the intervening 75 years, scores more have cropped up. Rarely are any agencies ever phased out.
57. Problems:
· Overlapping mandates – Some agencies are sectoral (WHO, FAO, UNIDO, UNEP, UNAIDS), others target a specific group of beneficiaries (UNICEF, UN WOMEN, UNHCR). A dozen agencies deal with health; three handle displaced persons…
· Corruption – Highly publicized allegations of organizational waste and fraud (e.g., Food-for-Oil, UNOPS) are difficult to identify, investigate and prosecute.
· Abuse and impunity – Abuse by individuals (sexual exploitation; racial, ethnic, or gender discrimination; bullying or harassment) is rarely uncovered and even more rarely punished. There are simply colossal obstacles to bring about cultural change within UN institutions.
· Biased recruiting – UN recruitment and staffing still favor candidates from industrialized nations. Donor nations have unfair advantages at all levels.
· Donor driven programs – Unequal power of donor nations to define and set details of projects (where agencies will work, what sectors are a priority…) and set administrative guidelines (who is hired, where equipment is purchased...).
· Private sector chokehold – Increasing commandeering of development efforts by private sector entities. Example: public-private partnerships and multistakeholder platforms, not only like GAVI --the Vaccine Alliance (that ostensibly works to extend immunization to poorer developing countries)** -- but also the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Initiative, COVAX and quite a few others.
· Human rights too often relegated to lip service – Every UN agency is bound by the UN Charter to put HR upfront, but too often HR are added-on as a window dressing.
**: “GAVI has been criticized for giving private donors more unilateral power to decide on global health goals, prioritizing new, expensive vaccines while putting less money and effort into expanding coverage of old, cheap ones, harming local healthcare systems, spending too much on subsidies to large, profitable pharmaceutical companies without reducing the prices of some vaccines, and its conflicts of interest in having vaccine manufacturers on its governance board.” (Source: GAVI - Wikipedia)
68. Suggestions:
· Re-vision and re-mission, as well as rationalize the coverage and efficiency of the several specialized UN agencies, emphasizing sectoral distribution in a logical manner.
· Standardize administrative and contractual arrangements across all agencies, organizations and funds, so that all are governed by the same rules.
· Consolidate and put teeth into the various legal and ethical and HR watchdog initiatives (UN Ethics Office, OIOS, UNHCHR…) to ensure institutional culture change.
· Promote multi-lateral over bi-lateral funding of agencies. Divert private sector funding/donations to a central UN Fund that will allocate the same to programs.
· End the prerogative of certain donor nations to name UN agencies’ directors (e.g., World Bank to the USA; IMF to the EU; UNICEF to the USA…).
· Provide equivalent training opportunities for potential staff from LDCs. Open JPO opportunities to citizens of the Global South keeping them funded by the Global North.*** Provide equivalent training opportunities for potential staff from LDCs.
· Demand that these agencies, funds and programs design and implement actions in the field around HR imperatives. Monitoring and evaluation of the same must include measuring HR impacts.
***: Junior Program Officer. JPO is an introductory entry level for UN officers. Typically, JPO posts are established by a UN agency (WHO, WFP, UNICEF, UNHCR...) at the request of a donor nation which, in return for funding the post, gets to place one of its up-and-coming young stars in that agency. The JPOs overwhelmingly come from the wealthy donor nations. That is why there is an abundance of sharp young professionals from the North always ready to apply for a UN post.
79. Other Miscellaneous Suggestions (in no particular order.)
· Revisit the financing of the UN System, to make the annual member states’ assessments fairer, proportional and more appropriate, ensuring that the economies of the Global North pay a much greater share.
· Move the General Assembly and the Security Council out of New York City. Subsidize the relocation of headquarters of more funds, programs and agencies to capitals inof the Global South.
· Revisit the UN policy of civil-military collaboration in humanitarian contexts, taking into considerationing the real impact and potential consequences of using military assets of donor nations that have with their own geo-political strategic interests.
· Stop viewing the private sector as the panacea to all the problems of the UN!
Claudio Schuftan, Ho Chi Minh City
Your comments are welcome at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
All Readers are available at www.claudioschuftan.com
If you do not want to receive these Readers anymore, do send me a message with ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line.

Recent special elections have resulted in Democrats overperforming expectations by a ton! Between Dems getting things done while in power, and the GOP going in an increasingly scary direction, voters can tell which party is looking out for them. Now our job is to get every voter to show up, every election.
Besides our well-known volunteer from home spreadsheet and weekly volunteer posts, we have some new initiatives to help you support Democrats across the country! Read on and sign up:
Introducing Campaign Central: a VoteDem VAN alternative project to help local campaigns organize!
Running for office is a major undertaking, and like any great journey, the first step is often the hardest. Our goal at VoteDem is to lower that barrier by developing a campaigning tool we can freely offer as a service to Democrats across the country. Campaign Central is a web-based platform that can load voter registration data, organize phone banking, text banking, canvassing, and much more! But to run this project, we need your help. We need volunteers to collect and upload voter registration data once per month (instructions provided), and a Python developer (preferably with experience using Odoo) to help build these tools.
Sign up for a state

State	Volunteers
Arkansas
Florida
Indiana	u/komm_susser_Thot
Massachusetts
New York
North Carolina
Ohio	u/aoi_to_midori
Oklahoma
Vermont
Washington	u/Snickersthecat
Wyoming

Interested in helping us develop the program? Send us a modmail describing relevant Python experience.
Adopt A Candidate is Returning!
Yup - we are continuing our Adopt a Candidate operations. For the moment, we’re largely focusing on upcoming special elections until the primaries for the November elections are finished.
When you adopt a candidate, you commit to volunteering for them at least once a week - in person or from home. Your efforts now could make the difference as these races will likely be very close and have generally lower turnout!
If you’d like to adopt one of these candidates, reply in this thread or send us a modmail. You can adopt a candidate not on this list if you wish, too. Just let us know!

Candidate	District	Election Day	Adopted by
Joshua Hicks	Jacksonville, FL At Large 2	Mar 21st	u/Hurrdurraj65
Charles Garrison	Jacksonville, FL At Large 5	Mar 21st	u/Hurrdurraj65
Alton McGriff Jr.	Jacksonville, FL City Council 1	Mar 21st	u/Hurrdurraj65
Ramon Day	Jacksonville, FL City Council 11	Mar 21st	u/Hurrdurraj65
Joyce Morgan	Duval County, FL Property Appraiser	Mar 21st	u/Hurrdurraj65
Tim Cox	Henderson NV City Council 1	April 3rd
Janet Protasiewicz	WI Supreme Court	April 4th	u/Reptorian, u/Lotsagloom, u/Hurrdurraj65, u/table_fireplace, u/SGSTHB, u/Wes_Anderson_Cooper, u/ornery-fizz, u/molybdenum75
Sara Geenen	Wisconsin Court of Appeals District 1	April 4th
Jodi Habush Sinykin	Wisconsin State Senate District 8	April 4th	u/SaltResearcher4, u/Pipboy3500
Brandon Presley	MS Governor	November 7th	u/ProudPatriot07

We’re looking for graphic artists and folks that understand how to run social media!
While we all like to jest that the mod team is able to do anything and everything, we have limitations. We are currently looking for individuals with knowledge and skill in creating Graphic Art as a way to further the community's image. Our main priority would be aiding in creating graphics akin to the following design that we’ve used for AMA guests.
We are also looking for someone that is more knowledgeable in how to properly create a social media following/interact in the social media spaces to effectively operate them. The mod team is not particularly knowledgeable, nor do we have the time to properly utilize those tools.
If you are interested in volunteering forhelping with either position, please send us a modmail and we will continue the conversation from that point. Note: neither of these positions are paid and would be done on a purely volunteer role.
Let’s make sure that the GOP knows the true power of grassroots action!

When a family mysteriously disappears from the town of Schafer, North Dakota, suspicion lands on a sociopathic farm-hand, and the entire community rises up to take justice into its own hands. Based on the true story of the infamous Charles Bannon case of 1931.

"But since we have made mention of the Atlantioi (Atlanteans) [i.e. their war with the Amazons, see the following section], we believe that it will not be inappropriate in this place to recount what their myths relate about the genesis of the gods, in view of the fact that it does not differ greatly from the myths of the Greeks. Now the Atlantians, dwelling as they do in the regions on the edge of Okeanos (the Ocean) and inhabiting a fertile territory, are reputed far to excel their neighbours in reverence toward the gods and the humanity they showed in their dealings with strangers, and the gods, they say, were born among them. And their account, they maintain, is in agreement with that of the most renowned of the Greek poets [Homer, Iliad 14.200] when he represents Hera as saying: ‘For I go to see the ends of the bountiful earth, Okeanos source of the gods and Tethys divine their mother.’ This is the account given in their myth: Their first king was Ouranos (Uranus, Heaven), and he gathered the human beings, who dwelt in scattered habitations, within the shelter of a walled city and caused his subjects to cease from their lawless ways and their bestial manner of living, discovering for them the uses of cultivated fruits, how to store them up, and not a few other things which are of benefit to man; and he also subdued the larger part of the inhabited earth, in particular the regions to the west and the north. And since he was a careful observer of the stars he foretold many things which would take place throughout the world; and for the common people he introduced the year on the basis of the movement of the sun and the months on that of the moon, and instructed them in the seasons which recur year after year. Consequently the masses of the people, being ignorant of the eternal arrangement of the stars and marvelling at the events which were taking place as he had predicted, conceived that the man who taught such things partook of the nature of the gods, and after he had passed from among men they accorded to him immortal honours, both because of his benefactions and because of his knowledge of the stars; and then they transferred his name to the firmament of heaven, both because they thought that he had been so intimately acquainted with the risings and the settings of the stars and with whatever else took place in the firmament, and because they would surpass his benefactions by the magnitude of the honours which they would show him, in that for all subsequent time they proclaimed him to be the king of the universe. To Ouranos, the myth continues, were born forty-five sons from a number of wives, and, of these, eighteen, it is said, were by Titaia (Titaea), each of them bearing a distinct name, but all of them as a group were called, after their mother, Titanes (Titans). Titaia, because she was prudent and had brought about many good deeds for the peoples, was deified after her death by those whom she had helped and her name was changed to Gê (Earth). To Ouranos were also born daughters, the two eldest of whom were by far the most renowned above the others and were called Basileia (Queen) and Rhea, whom some also named Pandora. Of these daughters Basileia, who was the eldest and far excelled the others in both prudence and understanding, reared all her brothers, showing them collectively a mother's kindness; consequently she was given the appellation of ‘Great Mother’; and after her father had been translated from among men into the circle of the gods, with the approval of the masses and her brothers she succeeded to the royal dignity, though she was still a maiden and because of her exceedingly great chastity had been unwilling to unite in marriage with any man. But later, because of her desire to leave sons who should succeed to the throne, she united in marriage with Hyperion, one of her brothers, for whom she had the greatest affection. And when there were born to her two children, Helios (the Sun) and Selenê (the Moon), who were greatly admired for both their beauty and their chastity, the brothers of Basileia, they say, being envious of her because of her happy issue of children ad fearing that Hyperion would divert the royal power to himself, committed an utterly impious deed; for entering into a conspiracy among themselves they put Hyperion to the sword, and casting Helios [i.e. the child Phaethon of myth], who was still in years a child, into the Eridanos river, drowned him. When this crime came to light, Selene, who loved her brother very greatly, threw herself down from the roof, but as for his mother, while seeking his body along the river, her strength left her and falling into a swoon she beheld a vision in which she thought that Helios stood over her and urged her not to mourn the death of her children; for, he said, the Titanes would meet the punishment which they deserve, while he and his sister would be transformed, by some divine providence, into immortal natures, since that which had formerly been called ‘holy fire’ in the heavens would be called by men ‘the sun’ (hêlios) and that addresses as menê would be called ‘the moon’ (Selene). When she was aroused from the swoon she recounted to the common crowd both the dream and the misfortunes which had befallen her, asking that they render to the dead honours like those accorded to the gods and asserting that no man should thereafter touch her body. And after this she became frenzied, and seizing such of her daughter's playthings as could make a noise, she began to wander over the land, with her hair hanging free, inspired by the noise of the kettledrums and cymbals, so that those who saw her were struck with astonishment. And all men were filled with pity at her misfortune and some were clinging to her body, when there came a mighty storm and continuous crashes of thunder and lightning; and in the midst of this Basileia passed from sight, whereupon the crowds of people, amazed at this reversal of fortune, transferred the names and the honours of Helios and Selenê to the stars of the sky, and as for their mother, they considered her to be a goddess and erected altars to her, and imitating the incidents of her life by the pounding of the kettledrums and the clash of cymbals they rendered unto her in this way sacrifices and all other honours."
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 3. 60. 1 - 61. 6 : [After a digression on Phrygian mythology following the passage above Diodorus continues with his Atlantian story.] "After the death of Hyperion, the myth relates, the kingdom was divided among the sons of Ouranos (Uranus), the most renowned of whom were Atlas and Kronos (Cronus). Of these sons Atlas received as his part the regions on the coast of Okeanos (the Ocean), and he not only gave the name of Atlantioi (Atlanteans) to his peoples but likewise called the greatest mountain in the land Atlas. They also say that he perfected the science of astrology and was the first to publish to mankind the doctrine of the sphere; and it was for this reason that the idea was held that he entire heavens were supported upon the shoulders of Atlas, the myth darkly hinting in this way at his discovery and description of the sphere. There were born to him a number of sons, one of whom was distinguished above the others for his piety, justice to his subjects, and love of mankind, his name being Hesperos (Evening-Star). This king, having once climbed to the peak of Mount Atlas, was suddenly snatched away by mighty winds while he was making his observations of the stars, and never was seen again; and because of the virtuous life he had lived and their pity for his sad fate the multitudes accorded to him immortal honours and called the brightest of the stars of heaven after him. Atlas, the myth goes on to relate, also had seven daughters, who as a group were called Atlantides [i.e. the Pleiades] after their father, but their individual names were Maia, Elektra (Electra), Taÿgetê (Taygeta), Steropê, Meropê, Halkyonê (Halcyone), and the last Kelaino (Celaeno). These daughters lay with the most renowned heroes and gods and thus became ancestors of the larger part of the race of human beings, giving birth to those who, because of their high achievements, came to be called gods and heroes; Maia the eldest, for instance, lay with Zeus and bore Hermes, who was the discoverer of many things for the use of mankind; similarly the other Atlantides also gave birth to renowned children, who became the founders in some instances of nations and in other cases of cities. Consequently, not only among certain barbarians but among the Greeks as well, the great majority of the most ancient heroes trace their descent back to the Atlantides. These daughters were also distinguished for their chastity and after their death attained to immortal honour among men, by whom they were both enthroned in the heavens and endowed with the appellation of Pleiades. The Atlantides were also called ‘nymphai’ (nymphs) because the natives of that land addressed their women by the common appellation of ‘nymphe.’ Kronos (Cronus), the brother of Atlas, the myth continues, who was a man notorious for his impiety and greed, married his sister Rhea, by whom he begat that Zeus who was later called ‘Olympios’ (Olympian) . . . Zeus, the son of Kronos, emulated a manner of life the opposite of that led by his father, and since he showed himself honourable and friendly to all, the masses addressed him as ‘father.’ As for his succession to the kingly power, some say that his father yielded it to him of his own accord, but others state that he was chosen as king by the masses because of the hatred they bore towards his father, and that when Kronos made war against him with he aid of the Titanes, Zeus overcame him in battle, and on gaining supreme power visited all the inhabited world, conferring benefactions upon the race of men. He was pre-eminent also in bodily strength and in all the other qualities of virtue and for this reason quickly became master of the entire world. And in general he showed all zeal to punish impious and wicked men and to show kindness to the masses. In return for all this, after he had passed from among men he was given the name of Zên [from the verb ‘to live’], because he was the cause of right ‘living’ among men, and those who had received his favours showed him honour by enthroning him in the heavens, all men eagerly acclaiming him as god and lord for ever of the whole universe. These, then, are in summary the facts regarding the teachings of the Atlantioi (Atlanteans) about the gods.”

Greetings all!
If you’re walking to excel from London City Airport, can you just walk down the Custom House walkway from ibis styles London hotel (which would be the north side of Excel) or would we have to A) get the DLR from Prince Regent to Customs House or B) walk allllll the way round and try enter the walkway from Zero Sette/HM Passport London side? I just want to know really if you need a DLR ticket to walk down Customs House Walkway into excel or is it free to walk down from either entrance?
This is based off the graphic here that shows we can queue down both entrances of CH https://www.starwarscelebration.com/en-us/hotel-travel/getting-into-swce.html

Twins @ Royals - 01:10 PM CDT

Game Status: Scheduled

Links & Info

• Venue: Kauffman Stadium
• TV: Twins: Bally Sports North, Royals: Bally Sports Kansas City
• Radio: Twins: twinsbeisbol.com (es), Audacy, The Wolf 102.9 FM, WCCO 830, TIBN, Royals: KCSP 610
• MLB Gameday
• Statcast Game Preview

	Probable Pitcher (Season Stats)	Report
Twins	Joe Ryan (0-0, -.-- ERA, 0.0 IP)	No report posted.
Royals	Brad Keller (0-0, -.-- ERA, 0.0 IP)	No report posted.

ALC Rank	Team	W	L	GB (E#)	WC Rank	WC GB (E#)
1	Minnesota Twins	2	0	- (-)	-	- (-)
2	Cleveland Guardians	2	1	0.5 (160)	1	+0.5 (-)
3	Chicago White Sox	1	2	1.5 (159)	9	0.5 (160)
4	Detroit Tigers	0	2	2.0 (159)	11	1.0 (160)
5	Kansas City Royals	0	2	2.0 (159)	12	1.0 (160)

Division Scoreboard

DET @ TB 12:10 PM CDT
CWS @ HOU 01:10 PM CDT
CLE @ SEA 03:10 PM CDT
^{Posted: 04/02/2023 04:00:01 AM CDT, Update Interval: 5 Minutes}

Expedition report from Rift Group 4
Report carried out by Lieutenant Marvin Bailey
Report states: Peaceful contact with the local town of Una has ended in failure. Upon nearing the gates, the elves demanded RG-4 to identify themselves and after identification, they opened fire on with bows, crossbows, and scorpions. RG4 retaliated by opening fire with its 50mm chain gun, destroying parts of the wall, killing an unknown number of defenders, and destroying their heavy defenses. The initial shock from the chain gun froze the defenders, allowing RG-4 to vacate the area with minimum damage and no losses taken. This was the first unsuccessful interaction with the local populace since the beginning of the expedition and the Rift Group program and it shows that not all natives will be pleased with REC's arrival.
Other news: The enemy force on the other side of the North Alston river has not shown any signs of movement. Moreover, drone footage shows a number of the local populace leaving the Meilume capital and Una across the river, further suggesting that the Imperial army wishes to fortify and wall off the area between the two Alston rivers with the intention of boxing the REC before attacking. CIA sources can confirm this is the case. As far as the Rosian vassal kingdoms are concerned, RG-1, upon making successful contact with the border town of Afa, has sent a platoon, led by lieutenant James Wilson, to the Alston capital of Olinor where they made contact with the king of Alston, Thavok Zorgen. After a number of debates, king Thavok has agreed to accompany the platoon to the duchies of Zirith, Dothen, and Elarith, as well as the kingdom of Opherin to convince the dukes and kind Ostontul to attend a meeting with ambassador Eugene Anderson. Additional transportation will be provided should it be necessary.
30th day of late yellow season
Elyana, Empire of Light
"So.", said the chained human, "Is it my turn to pick the nail or yours?". The torturer responded by punching him in the face. The prisoner spat out a piece of his tooth before answering, "C'mon, you're supposed to be consistent. It's nail, nail, cut, punch. The teeth come later when all the nails are gone. Everyone knows that.". The torturer punched him again. "There you go again, messing up the consistency. I think I know why you work in this shit hole now."
The torturer wanted to hit him again, but a voice stopped him, "Enough!". A moment later, two elves walked into the room.
"Great General Laeroth.", the torturer said as he bowed.
"How is the questioning, Maul?", Laeroth asked.
"Not well, my lord. This human is proving to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. All I got was a name. Jack Mitchell."
Laeroth sighed as he approached the chained-up human. His body was cut in several places and half of his fingernails have been removed. In addition, he was missing two teeth and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Yet he still denies Maul. As much as it pained Laeroth to admit it, he was impressed. Any Rosian or even elf would have broken by now. What made this human different?
"Jack Mitchell.", Laeroth said, making Jack lift his head and smile.
"What's up?", Jack asked.
"The ceiling.", Laeroth answered, making Jack laugh. "What is humorous?"
"Maul over there said the same thing.", Jack replied as he wheezed, "You sure you're not related? You got the same shade."
This made Maul mad as he grabbed his hammer, "You insolent savage!"
"Calm yourself.", Laeroth said, "I still need this human alive. High mage Gunru, you have my permission.".
"Yes, general.", said Gunru. He was one of the seven high mages of the empire in North Altia, second only to the grand mage Ishton. Each high mage is able to use more than one type of magical ability. Usually, a mage is only able to use one ability from a single spirit. The mages of Vita can be healers or they can use their power to give life to made objects. This way they can create their own army, however, the mage has to remain alive in order for the creature to remain alive, and if the creature is destroyed the life will return back to its source. The mages of Elendi can use one of the various elements, such as wind, fire, water, and so on. One other ability the high mages possess is 'Mind read'. By focusing their spiritual energy on the mind of the target, they can visualize their knowledge.
"What the hell are you doing?", Jack asked as Gunru grabbed his head with both hands, "I mean I'm flattered but I'm into women, just so you know."
Gunru closed his eyes and white energy started appearing from his hands. That energy went into Jack's head, which remained perfectly still as this occurred. Gunru entered his mind and began to project Jack's memories, thoughts, and knowledge around him. Laeroth just watched. He himself couldn't see unless Gunru gave the knowledge to him. But he did see something that disturbed him. Gunru began to twitch. A twitching that turned to shake as his eyes opened and quickly pulled back while panting and holding his head as though he had a headache.
"Gunru.", Laeroth called, "Tell me, what have you seen?"
Gunru shook and could barely grasp the words to speak, "T-T-Terrible things. A mistake. All of this was a mistake."
"Show me."
"No!", Gunru yelled immediately, "You must not. I could not get all the details myself. You will go insane."
"I must know our enemy. Even if it is a little, I must know. Gunru, you must show me."
Gunru greatly hesitated and opposed this. But at the same time, he knew if anyone was able to take the strain, it was Laeroth, the most loyal servant of the empire. "Very well. I shall show you as much as I can. Forgive me."
As Gunru placed his hands on Laeroth's head, the same energy went into it. Laeroth opened his eyes and found himself on a field of battle. Two sides were fighting, humans. One side had blue clothing and the other was red, both fighting with cannons and boomsticks, but nothing else. The blue-clothed soldiers appeared to be winning and they charged the red ones, all while carrying a flag. Red and white stripes with stars. It was brutal. What could it mean?
Night turned to day over and over again, until another battle occurred. Same thing, broomsticks, and cannons, but they fought each other. Once again, there was a flag with stars and stripes but now there were two. A civil war? Hundreds of thousands of men died all for what?
Fast forward, Laeroth appeared in another field, but considerably more terrifying. It was a field of black mud, ash, and blood as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of bodies piled up around giant cannons that fired and destroyed castles. He could see waves of soldiers running forward at their dug-in enemies. They fell by the dozen until a few lucky ones reached the line and engaged in a brutal brawl. The fighting kept escalating until a massive white cloud filled the battlefield and everyone caught in started choking and dying.
Once the smoke cleared, Laeroth could see hundreds of thousands, no, millions of soldiers and armored beasts marching across a field. They fought another gigantic army, one Laeroth thought could never exist. Millions of troops met on the battlefield and slaughtered one another as the metal monsters spat fire and thousands of iron wyverns fought in the air. Massive ships of steel fired enormous cannons of steel at one another as hundreds of iron rods fell from the sky and flattened the cities below.
Closing and opening his eyes one more time he saw a city. A large city with towers of stone and glass that pierced the clouds. But then he saw it get destroyed as it was engulfed in a literal sea of flames. All of those people were dead in an instant, and in place of the city was a gigantic cloud in the shape of a mushroom.
The day turned to night again as Laeroth was lifted into the air and observed the world change. The nations fought one another while also existing in peace. Cities became massive and their armies even more powerful. But then, the fires came. The great cities turned to a smoldering pile of ash as they turned on one another in the name of 'salvation'. War, disease, poverty, entire civilizations were whipped out and empires started to fall. But in this chaos, something was born. The petty rivalry of the great powers vanished and united they led their armies and pulled the corruption by its roots. It took them decades but they did it. And now united, they rebuilt their homes. The world was not at peace but they made the most of it. At least until they showed up. The rift opened, the invasion failed and now an angered giant prepares to take its vengeance and punish them for their crimes.
Gunru stopped sending energy into Laeroth's mind and let go of his head. Laeroth bent over and panted. His heart was racing and his nose bleeding. He could not believe what he saw. Was there really no hope? Was this war lost before it even began? How was he to win? He wasn't, but he knew he couldn't just give up. His pride as a warrior and a soldier wouldn't let him. But more than that, it was Canus. His maniacal nature coupled with fear will only make things worse if he were to find out. Furthermore, the Inquisition will most likely pull strings and keep the war going for their sick and twisted games. Laeroth knew he had to come up with something, otherwise, the empire will crumble.
"General, are you alright.", Maul asked.
"I am fine Maul.", Laeroth answered, "Take the human back to the cell and treat his wounds. I will let you know what I want with him next later."
"Yes, my lord.", Maul said as he gestured to the guards to help him.
"Gunru."
"Yes, general?", Gunru answered.
"You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even the emperor. This stays between us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, general."
"Good. Now excuse me, I must clean myself and prepare for the future.". Laeroth left the torture chamber and climbed up the steps to the halls. On his way to his personal chamber, he could feel a strange sensation run down his spine. The effects of the mind read? No, this was something else. He made a random turn and walked down a narrow hallway. After taking a few steps, he prepared a knife and waited. Soon, a cloaked individual suddenly appeared from behind the corner and started running away. Laeroth immediately gave chase, signaling the guards in front to stop him. Two guards formed up with shields, which made him stop for a moment. After a moment Laeroth threw his knife at his back. He yelled in pain as he fell over and the guards moved in.
"Leave him!", Laeroth shouted as he grabbed the man and pulled the cloak down. It turned out to be a woman. "Who sent you!? Talk!". His words fell on deaf ears as the woman's head twitched and a thick purple foam-like substance oozed from her mouth. Laeroth groaned and let her go, "Burn the body. Speak nothing of this.". The guards nodded and carried the body outside.
'Gilshor.', Laeroth thought, 'I will not let you turn this war into your own personal puppet show. The darkness will not rule the light.'
---
(Meanwhile)
Upper level of the Imperial palace
Lilyth Camilla Agorix was always a strange girl. While the other girls took care of their hair, she took care of the armor forged specifically for her. While the other girls practiced knitting and read poetry, she expressed an interest in politics and philosophy. This behavior wasn't particularly accepted by her father. Her mother, on the other hand, empress Alruna Flavia Agorix, greatly supported her. It was thanks to her effort that women were allowed to join the army, and at the moment, a tenth of the army is female. Alruna wasn't named the Lioness for anything, and Lilyth tries to live up to her expectations.
But some members of the family aren't as hard-working as her. Her brother Armas is the biggest and most disgusting slob. She could hear him and his hooligans laugh in his chamber. Trying her best to ignore them, she walked past, but as Armas exited the room he called her over, "Hey sister! Come on in. We have room."
Lilyth groaned, "I have more important matters to attend to than entertain a room full of children."
Armas laughed, "Oh come on, loosen up. The slaves taught me that."
"Armas, if mother finds out-"
"What? What will she do? These slaves were given to me and I can do whatever I want with them."
"Is that so?", spoke a mature womanly voice, "Tell me, Armas, what exactly have you been doing?"
"M-Mother?", Armas uttered. Next to her was the second youngest daughter, Khelsa, along with the captive human girl, Amy. The two became friends after Amy arrived and while Alruna didn't support it at first, she learned that a child is a child, and her being from a supposedly savage land is irrelevant. "Nothing. Just questioning these captives with my soldiers."
"You mean raping women with your hooligans.", Alruna said as she walked into his room. The stench and sight made her sick. "Guards! Take these women to my chambers and bring along some maids. Clean them, feed them, and dress them properly." Guards did just that, pushing away the thugs who grunted in response.
"Khelsa?", Amy asked, "Is that your brother?"
Khelsa sighed in response, "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see this."
As the guards took the women out, Armas protested, "Mother, this is unfair. These women are my slaves. Furthermore, they are savages from a barbaric land. They should consider themselves lucky to even be in my presence. Father says-"
Alruna slapped him, stopping his sentence, "Your father may be the emperor, but I know him better than anyone else. He is narrow-minded and frightened, only seeing what is right in front of him, and never bothering to properly assess anything. We may be the chosen bringers of light, but if we act as barbaric as our adversaries then we are no better than them. Now, get this room cleaned and then yourself. You are royalty, act like it." With that Alruna and Lilyth left, leaving Armas to bicker and throw tantrums.
"Thank you, mother.", Lilyth said, "I must go now."
"Go, my daughter.", said Alruna. Lilyth bowed and entered her chamber.
"Fenris.", she spoke, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, princess.", Fenris said, "The savage stands before you in chains and the scribe has prepared the parchment."
"Excellent. Scribe, you are to document any and all findings. Listen carefully. Do you understand?"
"Yes, princess.", answered the scribe.
"Let us begin.", Lilyth said as she walked to the captive, "What is your name?"
"You know that.", he answered and received a back-handed slap. After moving his head back, he answered, "Brian O'Neil."
"Where are you from?"
"My mom.", to which he received a punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt a lot, considering he was a large man. "The United States of America."
"Tell me more about it."
"It's a unity of fifty-two states with three hundred and fifty million people."
This shocked Lilyth but she didn't show it, "Are there more countries?"
"Many more. My country isn't even the biggest one."
"So there are more empires in your world."
"No, there aren't any."
Lilyth paused for a moment, "Then what?"
"We are a republic. We elect our leader and that leader represents us. He doesn't have all the power and all of his decisions are put to a vote. Empires and kings are a thing of the past."
"You expect me to believe that? A nation cannot function without a centralized figure controlling it."
Brad chuckled, "We use to think that, too. But we found out that the opposite is true. One person can control a city, or maybe a small nation. But the bigger a nation gets and the more powerful it gets, the more strain appears on a single person. This is why our nations are governed by dozens of people and we have careful systems for governance. A single person is not enough. He would only bring ruin."
This shocked Lilyth more. A system like this was always theorized by politicians and philosophers, but nothing was ever tested because the emperors abolished it, saying that it goes against the path of light. "You say that. But our empire has grown powerful and spread across the world. We have become its rulers and spreaders of wisdom, knowledge, and civilization."
"There used to be an empire in my world that thought just like you. They wanted to conquer the entire world and make it so that only their ways exist. Do you want to know what happened?"
"What?"
"They became too big. There was too much ground. Their forces were spread thin and could be picked off by united barbarians who didn't like their ways. War stopped and since their economy depended on it, it crumbled. Their politicians became corrupt and power-hungry. They stole from and even killed each other. Eventually, they fell beneath the force of the united kingdoms they called savages and were wiped out. This is why no one can truly conquer the world. No matter how hard you fight, the world always wins."
Lilyth clenched her fists and stared at Brad with an angered look, "You say that we will end up the same?"
"If you refuse to change, then yes.".
After staring at him for a few moments, she spoke, "Fenris! Take him back to his cell. We will continue this tomorrow."
"At once, princess.", Fenris said and grabbed Brad by the arm.
As they were walking out the door, Brad turned his head to Fenris, "You know she likes you, right?".
Fenris looked at him for a bit before pushing him forward. Lilyth was left to ponder Brad's words. There is still much for her to learn.
---
(That night)
Somewhere between Meilume capital and Una
Being a prisoner is never good. Your rights are taken away and the ones who captured you can do anything they want to you. They could kill you, sell you or worse. This was the predicament the Belus family found itself in. Out of the two hundred soldiers that accompanied them, only one soldier remained, the others were killed and fed to the welfen and leanoids. The Belus family was in a cage with the last soldier, Klaus, and a servant, Lia. The five of them were all sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, wondering what will happen next. Taria was still grieving over the death of Aego, not even lifting her head.
"Bellon.", Nimriel whispered, "What will happen to us?"
"Do not worry.", Bellon said, "We will alright."
"Stop lying, father.", Taria said, still with head lowered, "These people will first rape us, torture us and then demand ransom from the empire."
"Hush, my lady.", Lia said, "Don't say such things."
"What? The truth?"
"You should listen to the little girl.", said a rogue elf as he crouched in front of the cage. Behind him was the fire in the center of the camp with four more rogues, two leanoids, and one welfen. Most of the bandits were asleep, only over a dozen stayed awake. "The money we'll get from you will make us set for life. Sure, we might have lost more than half our men, but that just means more for the living."
Taria spat, "Open this cage and I'll show you a little girl."
The rogue chuckled, "Quite a fighter. I saw you kill that leanoid. You're good. Why don't you come with us?"
"Why would I join a bunch of good-for-nothing traitors? You know nothing of honor, duty or the light."
The rogue laughed, "They still teach that shit? The light is nothing but a made-up excuse the first emperor made so we can take these lands. People like us? We see the truth. And all of you are being manipulated."
"You dare mock the path of light?", asked Bellon.
"Shouldn't a bad joke be mocked?"
Taria and Bellon gritted their teeth. This is why rogues are killed on sight. They know nothing but greed. As Taria stared at the rogue, something appeared in the corner of her vision. A man in green armor held a black boomstick and aimed it at the bandits by the fire. She looked around and saw six more. Are they insane? If they fire it, it will alert everyone. But when they fired them, only a slight sound was heard. Enough for the rogue in front of her to turn around. He saw his mates dead, but couldn't call for help as his neck was ripped out by a welfen. The Belus family was in shock as the welfen opened the cage.
"Don't be afraid.", he spoke, "I'm with the Americans."
This confused the family. "Who?", Taria asked.
Soon after, a soldier in green got to them, "My name is Lieutenant Caden Roberts of RG-3. We're here to rescue you.". He cut their ropes and waved his hand to signal the rest of his men. As they moved, Taria saw the dead bodies of the bandits and when they got out of the camp she could see that only fifteen soldiers, including two tribals, came to rescue them.
"Who are you people?", Taria asked.
"We're the Rift Expeditionary Force from the United States of America.", said the lieutenant as he pressed a small metallic box which caused the entire bandit camp to get engulfed in flames. The bandits burned and screamed, some ran out of the camp but got shot by the green soldiers. Their camouflaged armor, repeating broomsticks, and fire magic puzzled Taria greatly. She couldn't even see their faces from their masks and eyewear. Who are they? Her questions had to wait a little longer, as iron carriages moved from behind them and opened.
"Lieutenant, is it go time?", spoke the man from one of the carriages.
"Yeah.", said the lieutenant, "Let's go, I'll get them to the MRAP. Come on.". He led the five of them to the middle carriages through its back door. It looked like it was completely made of metal and that it could take a cannon shot. This just further confused them. As the carriages started moving, they noticed that it was going at high speeds, even faster than horses.
"Who are you?", Bellon asked, "What do you want from us?"
The soldiers in front of them looked at each other before taking their masks and helmets off, revealing their pale faces. It wasn't anything sinister and they didn't look like they intended to harm them.
"I am sergeant Jeff Parker.", spoke one of them.
"I am staff sergeant Liam Cook.", spoke the other one, "Over here is Lioba, our feelian, and Olaf, our friendly welfen."
"It's welfen that attacked us.", Klaus spoke.
"Do not speak as if they are of my kind.", said Olaf in an angered tone, "Those beasts lost their meaning in life."
"What do you mean?", Jeff asked.
"Each wolf lives for the pack. For the tribe. He fights for it, provides for it, and dies for it. These wolves, they've abandoned their blood and chosen the life of a wild animal. They're no better than the ferals."
"I see. We have those too. We call them deserters. They flee the army and abandon their brothers. And so we hunt them down and punish them."
"As you should."
After some silence, Klaus spoke, "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect.". Olaf nodded.
"Are you taking us home?", Nimriel asked.
"No.", Liam said, "We're taking you to Galdush. Our lieutenant-general wishes to speak with you. Well, lord Bellon more specifically." The five went silent. This was the enemy from the rift, and now they're taking them to their leader.
"Are we to become your slaves then?", Taria asked.
Jeff and Liam chuckled a bit. "No no, of course not. That kind of thing is in the past for us. Our lieutenant-general only wants to speak with you. After a nice conversation, we will personally bring you back to the Meilume capital."
"How do you know its name?", Bellon asked.
"We have our ways. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.", Liam said as he pulled some blocks out of his pocket. When he opened it, it was gray and seemed to be food. After offering it to Lia, he spoke, "Hungry?". After some hesitation, Lia took it and tasted it. It was quite delicious. As she ate the whole thing, Liam chuckled as he opened a bag, "Don't strain yourself, I have enough for everyone."
---
(Several hours later)
Fort Galdush
"My lady.", said Lia as she shook Taria, "My lady, wake up, we've arrived."
Taria woke up, "What? How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours, my lady."
This was surprising, to say the least, "We're already here?". She looked out the window and saw their fort as well as their machines. The M2 battle tanks rolled over the hills and fired at the targets, blasting through them. She saw soldiers shooting their guns and groups running in a circle. At the gate, the lieutenant introduced himself and the convoy continued. Inside, they could see soldiers clad in thick, metal armor carrying large boxes and as they got out of the MRAP they saw the Invictus ACs flying in the air. All of this overwhelmed them. To them, these were otherworldly monsters. To the rangers, it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Lieutenant Roberts stood in front of his men, "Alright. I will take lord Bellon Belus to lieutenant-general Coleman. Parker, Cook, you take the rest to their temporary residents."
"Yes sir.", both of them said as they saluted, "Okay, let's go. I promise it's nothing bad."
Taria, Lia, Nimriel, and Klaus went with Jeff and Liam to their residence while Caden took Bellon to the lieutenant-general. The two of them went into the central command building.
"Lieutenant Caden Roberts of Rift Group 3 here to see colonel Andrew Marshal and lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman.", he said to a woman who worked as a secretary.
After some delay, the woman nodded, "Go down the hall to meeting room two."
"Thank you. Come on.". Bellon followed Caden through the hall. He admired how it was crystal clear and pearl white like they were made of pure marble. As they walked they reached the meeting room and entered. Inside were two men who stood up immediately.
"Good morning.", said the first man, "I am lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman of the Rift Expeditionary Corp. And this is our logistics officer, colonel Andrew Marshal."
"Nice to meet you.", Andrew said, "You are the lord of Meilume, Bellon Belus, correct?"
Bellon stuttered, "Y-Yes I am. Great general, you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, and my family.", he said as he bowed.
"Please.", Patrick spoke, "No need to bow. And please call me Patrick. Sit down."
"Thank you, Patrick.", Bellon said as he sat down, Caden next to him.
"While I accept your gratitude, I'm going to need to ask something else of you?"
'Of course. What was I expecting?', Bellon thought, "And what would that be? If it is gold I assure you the emperor will pay a decent sum for my family and me."
"Oh no, god no. I'm not asking for money. I need something from you that only someone of your status within the empire can provide."
'Someone of my status'. "What exactly?"
"As you know, your empire opened a rift in our country and attacked without warning and unprovoked. We beat the invasion force and the force than came after it. You lost two armies in less than a month, or, a moon cycle as you call them."
"Yes, I am aware of this. What does that have to do with me? I didn't send those armies."
"We know. But you have a connection with the person who did. And we want you to send a message to him for us."
'A message?' "And what kind of message?"
"We would like an audience with a representative to negotiate peace."
This stunned Bellon. 'Peace?'
---
(Meanwhile)
Jeff and Liam brought the four to an empty army barracks, reserved for these situations. "Okay.", Liam spoke, "You'll be staying here until the lieutenant-general orders otherwise. Don't worry, you'll be comfortable." They entered the barracks and it was clean, with several beds, a fridge, desks, and lights, which Jeff turned on, surprising the 'guests'.
"Make yourselves at home.", Jeff said, "I'll bring you some breakfast soon.". He left and closed the door, leaving the four to talk.
"What do you think will happen, Klaus?", Nimriel asked.
"I don't know, my lady.", he answered, "But we shouldn't do anything to anger them. I think we should wait and see what is to come."
Taria looked out the window and saw the tanks and LAVs driving past as well as soldiers marching in unison. "Incredible. All this power. They could have destroyed Meilume before we even had the chance to escape. And yet here we are. In their fortress, waiting for them to bring us food. They want something."
"Well.", Lia said, "That man who offered me the sweet food was nice. I think they're not that bad."
"They are the enemy, Lia. Enemies should never be trusted. It might seem like they are good, but they are using us. They want us here so we can witness their power and use us to spread fear through the rest of the empire. Clever."
"I think you are thinking too much about it, my lady. Perhaps you need to sit down, and rest."
Taria sighed. She walked to a nearby desk and observed the notebooks, pens, and pencils. She sat down and opened a notebook, immediately noticing how the paper is milk-white with lines to help her writing. Picking up one of the pens, she observed how smooth it was and made of spotless, thin metal, but also how it didn't have a tip. Then she noticed the round top and remembered how the lieutenant pressed his metal box. Pressing down the top, the pen clicked and the tip appeared. Amazed, she clicked it several more times before starting to write.
"Taria?", Nimriel asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down what I saw."
At that moment, Jeff opened the door and brought several white cardboard boxes, "I brought breakfast. I hope it's to your liking."
Each of them took one and Jeff put the last one on Taria's desk. She looked at him and asked, "Can you show me more of your fortress?"
Jeff hesitated a bit, "Why?"
"I'm curious. I wish to learn."
"So you can write it down and give the information to the army?". Taria sat silently. This wasn't untrue. "Look, we're not your enemy. Our commanding officer is talking to your father about peace. Truth is, we don't want war.". Taria paused to think about that. "But if I get permission, I'll show you around."
"I would appreciate it. Thank you."
​
End of chapter 10
​
---
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Expedition report from Rift Group 4
Report carried out by Lieutenant Marvin Bailey
Report states: Peaceful contact with the local town of Una has ended in failure. Upon nearing the gates, the elves demanded RG-4 to identify themselves and after identification, they opened fire on with bows, crossbows, and scorpions. RG4 retaliated by opening fire with its 50mm chain gun, destroying parts of the wall, killing an unknown number of defenders, and destroying their heavy defenses. The initial shock from the chain gun froze the defenders, allowing RG-4 to vacate the area with minimum damage and no losses taken. This was the first unsuccessful interaction with the local populace since the beginning of the expedition and the Rift Group program and it shows that not all natives will be pleased with REC's arrival.
Other news: The enemy force on the other side of the North Alston river has not shown any signs of movement. Moreover, drone footage shows a number of the local populace leaving the Meilume capital and Una across the river, further suggesting that the Imperial army wishes to fortify and wall off the area between the two Alston rivers with the intention of boxing the REC before attacking. CIA sources can confirm this is the case. As far as the Rosian vassal kingdoms are concerned, RG-1, upon making successful contact with the border town of Afa, has sent a platoon, led by lieutenant James Wilson, to the Alston capital of Olinor where they made contact with the king of Alston, Thavok Zorgen. After a number of debates, king Thavok has agreed to accompany the platoon to the duchies of Zirith, Dothen, and Elarith, as well as the kingdom of Opherin to convince the dukes and kind Ostontul to attend a meeting with ambassador Eugene Anderson. Additional transportation will be provided should it be necessary.
30th day of late yellow season
Elyana, Empire of Light
"So.", said the chained human, "Is it my turn to pick the nail or yours?". The torturer responded by punching him in the face. The prisoner spat out a piece of his tooth before answering, "C'mon, you're supposed to be consistent. It's nail, nail, cut, punch. The teeth come later when all the nails are gone. Everyone knows that.". The torturer punched him again. "There you go again, messing up the consistency. I think I know why you work in this shit hole now."
The torturer wanted to hit him again, but a voice stopped him, "Enough!". A moment later, two elves walked into the room.
"Great General Laeroth.", the torturer said as he bowed.
"How is the questioning, Maul?", Laeroth asked.
"Not well, my lord. This human is proving to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. All I got was a name. Jack Mitchell."
Laeroth sighed as he approached the chained-up human. His body was cut in several places and half of his fingernails have been removed. In addition, he was missing two teeth and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Yet he still denies Maul. As much as it pained Laeroth to admit it, he was impressed. Any Rosian or even elf would have broken by now. What made this human different?
"Jack Mitchell.", Laeroth said, making Jack lift his head and smile.
"What's up?", Jack asked.
"The ceiling.", Laeroth answered, making Jack laugh. "What is humorous?"
"Maul over there said the same thing.", Jack replied as he wheezed, "You sure you're not related? You got the same shade."
This made Maul mad as he grabbed his hammer, "You insolent savage!"
"Calm yourself.", Laeroth said, "I still need this human alive. High mage Gunru, you have my permission.".
"Yes, general.", said Gunru. He was one of the seven high mages of the empire in North Altia, second only to the grand mage Ishton. Each high mage is able to use more than one type of magical ability. Usually, a mage is only able to use one ability from a single spirit. The mages of Vita can be healers or they can use their power to give life to made objects. This way they can create their own army, however, the mage has to remain alive in order for the creature to remain alive, and if the creature is destroyed the life will return back to its source. The mages of Elendi can use one of the various elements, such as wind, fire, water, and so on. One other ability the high mages possess is 'Mind read'. By focusing their spiritual energy on the mind of the target, they can visualize their knowledge.
"What the hell are you doing?", Jack asked as Gunru grabbed his head with both hands, "I mean I'm flattered but I'm into women, just so you know."
Gunru closed his eyes and white energy started appearing from his hands. That energy went into Jack's head, which remained perfectly still as this occurred. Gunru entered his mind and began to project Jack's memories, thoughts, and knowledge around him. Laeroth just watched. He himself couldn't see unless Gunru gave the knowledge to him. But he did see something that disturbed him. Gunru began to twitch. A twitching that turned to shake as his eyes opened and quickly pulled back while panting and holding his head as though he had a headache.
"Gunru.", Laeroth called, "Tell me, what have you seen?"
Gunru shook and could barely grasp the words to speak, "T-T-Terrible things. A mistake. All of this was a mistake."
"Show me."
"No!", Gunru yelled immediately, "You must not. I could not get all the details myself. You will go insane."
"I must know our enemy. Even if it is a little, I must know. Gunru, you must show me."
Gunru greatly hesitated and opposed this. But at the same time, he knew if anyone was able to take the strain, it was Laeroth, the most loyal servant of the empire. "Very well. I shall show you as much as I can. Forgive me."
As Gunru placed his hands on Laeroth's head, the same energy went into it. Laeroth opened his eyes and found himself on a field of battle. Two sides were fighting, humans. One side had blue clothing and the other was red, both fighting with cannons and boomsticks, but nothing else. The blue-clothed soldiers appeared to be winning and they charged the red ones, all while carrying a flag. Red and white stripes with stars. It was brutal. What could it mean?
Night turned to day over and over again, until another battle occurred. Same thing, broomsticks, and cannons, but they fought each other. Once again, there was a flag with stars and stripes but now there were two. A civil war? Hundreds of thousands of men died all for what?
Fast forward, Laeroth appeared in another field, but considerably more terrifying. It was a field of black mud, ash, and blood as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of bodies piled up around giant cannons that fired and destroyed castles. He could see waves of soldiers running forward at their dug-in enemies. They fell by the dozen until a few lucky ones reached the line and engaged in a brutal brawl. The fighting kept escalating until a massive white cloud filled the battlefield and everyone caught in started choking and dying.
Once the smoke cleared, Laeroth could see hundreds of thousands, no, millions of soldiers and armored beasts marching across a field. They fought another gigantic army, one Laeroth thought could never exist. Millions of troops met on the battlefield and slaughtered one another as the metal monsters spat fire and thousands of iron wyverns fought in the air. Massive ships of steel fired enormous cannons of steel at one another as hundreds of iron rods fell from the sky and flattened the cities below.
Closing and opening his eyes one more time he saw a city. A large city with towers of stone and glass that pierced the clouds. But then he saw it get destroyed as it was engulfed in a literal sea of flames. All of those people were dead in an instant, and in place of the city was a gigantic cloud in the shape of a mushroom.
The day turned to night again as Laeroth was lifted into the air and observed the world change. The nations fought one another while also existing in peace. Cities became massive and their armies even more powerful. But then, the fires came. The great cities turned to a smoldering pile of ash as they turned on one another in the name of 'salvation'. War, disease, poverty, entire civilizations were whipped out and empires started to fall. But in this chaos, something was born. The petty rivalry of the great powers vanished and united they led their armies and pulled the corruption by its roots. It took them decades but they did it. And now united, they rebuilt their homes. The world was not at peace but they made the most of it. At least until they showed up. The rift opened, the invasion failed and now an angered giant prepares to take its vengeance and punish them for their crimes.
Gunru stopped sending energy into Laeroth's mind and let go of his head. Laeroth bent over and panted. His heart was racing and his nose bleeding. He could not believe what he saw. Was there really no hope? Was this war lost before it even began? How was he to win? He wasn't, but he knew he couldn't just give up. His pride as a warrior and a soldier wouldn't let him. But more than that, it was Canus. His maniacal nature coupled with fear will only make things worse if he were to find out. Furthermore, the Inquisition will most likely pull strings and keep the war going for their sick and twisted games. Laeroth knew he had to come up with something, otherwise, the empire will crumble.
"General, are you alright.", Maul asked.
"I am fine Maul.", Laeroth answered, "Take the human back to the cell and treat his wounds. I will let you know what I want with him next later."
"Yes, my lord.", Maul said as he gestured to the guards to help him.
"Gunru."
"Yes, general?", Gunru answered.
"You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even the emperor. This stays between us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, general."
"Good. Now excuse me, I must clean myself and prepare for the future.". Laeroth left the torture chamber and climbed up the steps to the halls. On his way to his personal chamber, he could feel a strange sensation run down his spine. The effects of the mind read? No, this was something else. He made a random turn and walked down a narrow hallway. After taking a few steps, he prepared a knife and waited. Soon, a cloaked individual suddenly appeared from behind the corner and started running away. Laeroth immediately gave chase, signaling the guards in front to stop him. Two guards formed up with shields, which made him stop for a moment. After a moment Laeroth threw his knife at his back. He yelled in pain as he fell over and the guards moved in.
"Leave him!", Laeroth shouted as he grabbed the man and pulled the cloak down. It turned out to be a woman. "Who sent you!? Talk!". His words fell on deaf ears as the woman's head twitched and a thick purple foam-like substance oozed from her mouth. Laeroth groaned and let her go, "Burn the body. Speak nothing of this.". The guards nodded and carried the body outside.
'Gilshor.', Laeroth thought, 'I will not let you turn this war into your own personal puppet show. The darkness will not rule the light.'
---
(Meanwhile)
Upper level of the Imperial palace
Lilyth Camilla Agorix was always a strange girl. While the other girls took care of their hair, she took care of the armor forged specifically for her. While the other girls practiced knitting and read poetry, she expressed an interest in politics and philosophy. This behavior wasn't particularly accepted by her father. Her mother, on the other hand, empress Alruna Flavia Agorix, greatly supported her. It was thanks to her effort that women were allowed to join the army, and at the moment, a tenth of the army is female. Alruna wasn't named the Lioness for anything, and Lilyth tries to live up to her expectations.
But some members of the family aren't as hard-working as her. Her brother Armas is the biggest and most disgusting slob. She could hear him and his hooligans laugh in his chamber. Trying her best to ignore them, she walked past, but as Armas exited the room he called her over, "Hey sister! Come on in. We have room."
Lilyth groaned, "I have more important matters to attend to than entertain a room full of children."
Armas laughed, "Oh come on, loosen up. The slaves taught me that."
"Armas, if mother finds out-"
"What? What will she do? These slaves were given to me and I can do whatever I want with them."
"Is that so?", spoke a mature womanly voice, "Tell me, Armas, what exactly have you been doing?"
"M-Mother?", Armas uttered. Next to her was the second youngest daughter, Khelsa, along with the captive human girl, Amy. The two became friends after Amy arrived and while Alruna didn't support it at first, she learned that a child is a child, and her being from a supposedly savage land is irrelevant. "Nothing. Just questioning these captives with my soldiers."
"You mean raping women with your hooligans.", Alruna said as she walked into his room. The stench and sight made her sick. "Guards! Take these women to my chambers and bring along some maids. Clean them, feed them, and dress them properly." Guards did just that, pushing away the thugs who grunted in response.
"Khelsa?", Amy asked, "Is that your brother?"
Khelsa sighed in response, "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see this."
As the guards took the women out, Armas protested, "Mother, this is unfair. These women are my slaves. Furthermore, they are savages from a barbaric land. They should consider themselves lucky to even be in my presence. Father says-"
Alruna slapped him, stopping his sentence, "Your father may be the emperor, but I know him better than anyone else. He is narrow-minded and frightened, only seeing what is right in front of him, and never bothering to properly assess anything. We may be the chosen bringers of light, but if we act as barbaric as our adversaries then we are no better than them. Now, get this room cleaned and then yourself. You are royalty, act like it." With that Alruna and Lilyth left, leaving Armas to bicker and throw tantrums.
"Thank you, mother.", Lilyth said, "I must go now."
"Go, my daughter.", said Alruna. Lilyth bowed and entered her chamber.
"Fenris.", she spoke, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, princess.", Fenris said, "The savage stands before you in chains and the scribe has prepared the parchment."
"Excellent. Scribe, you are to document any and all findings. Listen carefully. Do you understand?"
"Yes, princess.", answered the scribe.
"Let us begin.", Lilyth said as she walked to the captive, "What is your name?"
"You know that.", he answered and received a back-handed slap. After moving his head back, he answered, "Brian O'Neil."
"Where are you from?"
"My mom.", to which he received a punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt a lot, considering he was a large man. "The United States of America."
"Tell me more about it."
"It's a unity of fifty-two states with three hundred and fifty million people."
This shocked Lilyth but she didn't show it, "Are there more countries?"
"Many more. My country isn't even the biggest one."
"So there are more empires in your world."
"No, there aren't any."
Lilyth paused for a moment, "Then what?"
"We are a republic. We elect our leader and that leader represents us. He doesn't have all the power and all of his decisions are put to a vote. Empires and kings are a thing of the past."
"You expect me to believe that? A nation cannot function without a centralized figure controlling it."
Brad chuckled, "We use to think that, too. But we found out that the opposite is true. One person can control a city, or maybe a small nation. But the bigger a nation gets and the more powerful it gets, the more strain appears on a single person. This is why our nations are governed by dozens of people and we have careful systems for governance. A single person is not enough. He would only bring ruin."
This shocked Lilyth more. A system like this was always theorized by politicians and philosophers, but nothing was ever tested because the emperors abolished it, saying that it goes against the path of light. "You say that. But our empire has grown powerful and spread across the world. We have become its rulers and spreaders of wisdom, knowledge, and civilization."
"There used to be an empire in my world that thought just like you. They wanted to conquer the entire world and make it so that only their ways exist. Do you want to know what happened?"
"What?"
"They became too big. There was too much ground. Their forces were spread thin and could be picked off by united barbarians who didn't like their ways. War stopped and since their economy depended on it, it crumbled. Their politicians became corrupt and power-hungry. They stole from and even killed each other. Eventually, they fell beneath the force of the united kingdoms they called savages and were wiped out. This is why no one can truly conquer the world. No matter how hard you fight, the world always wins."
Lilyth clenched her fists and stared at Brad with an angered look, "You say that we will end up the same?"
"If you refuse to change, then yes.".
After staring at him for a few moments, she spoke, "Fenris! Take him back to his cell. We will continue this tomorrow."
"At once, princess.", Fenris said and grabbed Brad by the arm.
As they were walking out the door, Brad turned his head to Fenris, "You know she likes you, right?".
Fenris looked at him for a bit before pushing him forward. Lilyth was left to ponder Brad's words. There is still much for her to learn.
---
(That night)
Somewhere between Meilume capital and Una
Being a prisoner is never good. Your rights are taken away and the ones who captured you can do anything they want to you. They could kill you, sell you or worse. This was the predicament the Belus family found itself in. Out of the two hundred soldiers that accompanied them, only one soldier remained, the others were killed and fed to the welfen and leanoids. The Belus family was in a cage with the last soldier, Klaus, and a servant, Lia. The five of them were all sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, wondering what will happen next. Taria was still grieving over the death of Aego, not even lifting her head.
"Bellon.", Nimriel whispered, "What will happen to us?"
"Do not worry.", Bellon said, "We will alright."
"Stop lying, father.", Taria said, still with head lowered, "These people will first rape us, torture us and then demand ransom from the empire."
"Hush, my lady.", Lia said, "Don't say such things."
"What? The truth?"
"You should listen to the little girl.", said a rogue elf as he crouched in front of the cage. Behind him was the fire in the center of the camp with four more rogues, two leanoids, and one welfen. Most of the bandits were asleep, only over a dozen stayed awake. "The money we'll get from you will make us set for life. Sure, we might have lost more than half our men, but that just means more for the living."
Taria spat, "Open this cage and I'll show you a little girl."
The rogue chuckled, "Quite a fighter. I saw you kill that leanoid. You're good. Why don't you come with us?"
"Why would I join a bunch of good-for-nothing traitors? You know nothing of honor, duty or the light."
The rogue laughed, "They still teach that shit? The light is nothing but a made-up excuse the first emperor made so we can take these lands. People like us? We see the truth. And all of you are being manipulated."
"You dare mock the path of light?", asked Bellon.
"Shouldn't a bad joke be mocked?"
Taria and Bellon gritted their teeth. This is why rogues are killed on sight. They know nothing but greed. As Taria stared at the rogue, something appeared in the corner of her vision. A man in green armor held a black boomstick and aimed it at the bandits by the fire. She looked around and saw six more. Are they insane? If they fire it, it will alert everyone. But when they fired them, only a slight sound was heard. Enough for the rogue in front of her to turn around. He saw his mates dead, but couldn't call for help as his neck was ripped out by a welfen. The Belus family was in shock as the welfen opened the cage.
"Don't be afraid.", he spoke, "I'm with the Americans."
This confused the family. "Who?", Taria asked.
Soon after, a soldier in green got to them, "My name is Lieutenant Caden Roberts of RG-3. We're here to rescue you.". He cut their ropes and waved his hand to signal the rest of his men. As they moved, Taria saw the dead bodies of the bandits and when they got out of the camp she could see that only fifteen soldiers, including two tribals, came to rescue them.
"Who are you people?", Taria asked.
"We're the Rift Expeditionary Force from the United States of America.", said the lieutenant as he pressed a small metallic box which caused the entire bandit camp to get engulfed in flames. The bandits burned and screamed, some ran out of the camp but got shot by the green soldiers. Their camouflaged armor, repeating broomsticks, and fire magic puzzled Taria greatly. She couldn't even see their faces from their masks and eyewear. Who are they? Her questions had to wait a little longer, as iron carriages moved from behind them and opened.
"Lieutenant, is it go time?", spoke the man from one of the carriages.
"Yeah.", said the lieutenant, "Let's go, I'll get them to the MRAP. Come on.". He led the five of them to the middle carriages through its back door. It looked like it was completely made of metal and that it could take a cannon shot. This just further confused them. As the carriages started moving, they noticed that it was going at high speeds, even faster than horses.
"Who are you?", Bellon asked, "What do you want from us?"
The soldiers in front of them looked at each other before taking their masks and helmets off, revealing their pale faces. It wasn't anything sinister and they didn't look like they intended to harm them.
"I am sergeant Jeff Parker.", spoke one of them.
"I am staff sergeant Liam Cook.", spoke the other one, "Over here is Lioba, our feelian, and Olaf, our friendly welfen."
"It's welfen that attacked us.", Klaus spoke.
"Do not speak as if they are of my kind.", said Olaf in an angered tone, "Those beasts lost their meaning in life."
"What do you mean?", Jeff asked.
"Each wolf lives for the pack. For the tribe. He fights for it, provides for it, and dies for it. These wolves, they've abandoned their blood and chosen the life of a wild animal. They're no better than the ferals."
"I see. We have those too. We call them deserters. They flee the army and abandon their brothers. And so we hunt them down and punish them."
"As you should."
After some silence, Klaus spoke, "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect.". Olaf nodded.
"Are you taking us home?", Nimriel asked.
"No.", Liam said, "We're taking you to Galdush. Our lieutenant-general wishes to speak with you. Well, lord Bellon more specifically." The five went silent. This was the enemy from the rift, and now they're taking them to their leader.
"Are we to become your slaves then?", Taria asked.
Jeff and Liam chuckled a bit. "No no, of course not. That kind of thing is in the past for us. Our lieutenant-general only wants to speak with you. After a nice conversation, we will personally bring you back to the Meilume capital."
"How do you know its name?", Bellon asked.
"We have our ways. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.", Liam said as he pulled some blocks out of his pocket. When he opened it, it was gray and seemed to be food. After offering it to Lia, he spoke, "Hungry?". After some hesitation, Lia took it and tasted it. It was quite delicious. As she ate the whole thing, Liam chuckled as he opened a bag, "Don't strain yourself, I have enough for everyone."
---
(Several hours later)
Fort Galdush
"My lady.", said Lia as she shook Taria, "My lady, wake up, we've arrived."
Taria woke up, "What? How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours, my lady."
This was surprising, to say the least, "We're already here?". She looked out the window and saw their fort as well as their machines. The M2 battle tanks rolled over the hills and fired at the targets, blasting through them. She saw soldiers shooting their guns and groups running in a circle. At the gate, the lieutenant introduced himself and the convoy continued. Inside, they could see soldiers clad in thick, metal armor carrying large boxes and as they got out of the MRAP they saw the Invictus ACs flying in the air. All of this overwhelmed them. To them, these were otherworldly monsters. To the rangers, it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Lieutenant Roberts stood in front of his men, "Alright. I will take lord Bellon Belus to lieutenant-general Coleman. Parker, Cook, you take the rest to their temporary residents."
"Yes sir.", both of them said as they saluted, "Okay, let's go. I promise it's nothing bad."
Taria, Lia, Nimriel, and Klaus went with Jeff and Liam to their residence while Caden took Bellon to the lieutenant-general. The two of them went into the central command building.
"Lieutenant Caden Roberts of Rift Group 3 here to see colonel Andrew Marshal and lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman.", he said to a woman who worked as a secretary.
After some delay, the woman nodded, "Go down the hall to meeting room two."
"Thank you. Come on.". Bellon followed Caden through the hall. He admired how it was crystal clear and pearl white like they were made of pure marble. As they walked they reached the meeting room and entered. Inside were two men who stood up immediately.
"Good morning.", said the first man, "I am lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman of the Rift Expeditionary Corp. And this is our logistics officer, colonel Andrew Marshal."
"Nice to meet you.", Andrew said, "You are the lord of Meilume, Bellon Belus, correct?"
Bellon stuttered, "Y-Yes I am. Great general, you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, and my family.", he said as he bowed.
"Please.", Patrick spoke, "No need to bow. And please call me Patrick. Sit down."
"Thank you, Patrick.", Bellon said as he sat down, Caden next to him.
"While I accept your gratitude, I'm going to need to ask something else of you?"
'Of course. What was I expecting?', Bellon thought, "And what would that be? If it is gold I assure you the emperor will pay a decent sum for my family and me."
"Oh no, god no. I'm not asking for money. I need something from you that only someone of your status within the empire can provide."
'Someone of my status'. "What exactly?"
"As you know, your empire opened a rift in our country and attacked without warning and unprovoked. We beat the invasion force and the force than came after it. You lost two armies in less than a month, or, a moon cycle as you call them."
"Yes, I am aware of this. What does that have to do with me? I didn't send those armies."
"We know. But you have a connection with the person who did. And we want you to send a message to him for us."
'A message?' "And what kind of message?"
"We would like an audience with a representative to negotiate peace."
This stunned Bellon. 'Peace?'
---
(Meanwhile)
Jeff and Liam brought the four to an empty army barracks, reserved for these situations. "Okay.", Liam spoke, "You'll be staying here until the lieutenant-general orders otherwise. Don't worry, you'll be comfortable." They entered the barracks and it was clean, with several beds, a fridge, desks, and lights, which Jeff turned on, surprising the 'guests'.
"Make yourselves at home.", Jeff said, "I'll bring you some breakfast soon.". He left and closed the door, leaving the four to talk.
"What do you think will happen, Klaus?", Nimriel asked.
"I don't know, my lady.", he answered, "But we shouldn't do anything to anger them. I think we should wait and see what is to come."
Taria looked out the window and saw the tanks and LAVs driving past as well as soldiers marching in unison. "Incredible. All this power. They could have destroyed Meilume before we even had the chance to escape. And yet here we are. In their fortress, waiting for them to bring us food. They want something."
"Well.", Lia said, "That man who offered me the sweet food was nice. I think they're not that bad."
"They are the enemy, Lia. Enemies should never be trusted. It might seem like they are good, but they are using us. They want us here so we can witness their power and use us to spread fear through the rest of the empire. Clever."
"I think you are thinking too much about it, my lady. Perhaps you need to sit down, and rest."
Taria sighed. She walked to a nearby desk and observed the notebooks, pens, and pencils. She sat down and opened a notebook, immediately noticing how the paper is milk-white with lines to help her writing. Picking up one of the pens, she observed how smooth it was and made of spotless, thin metal, but also how it didn't have a tip. Then she noticed the round top and remembered how the lieutenant pressed his metal box. Pressing down the top, the pen clicked and the tip appeared. Amazed, she clicked it several more times before starting to write.
"Taria?", Nimriel asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down what I saw."
At that moment, Jeff opened the door and brought several white cardboard boxes, "I brought breakfast. I hope it's to your liking."
Each of them took one and Jeff put the last one on Taria's desk. She looked at him and asked, "Can you show me more of your fortress?"
Jeff hesitated a bit, "Why?"
"I'm curious. I wish to learn."
"So you can write it down and give the information to the army?". Taria sat silently. This wasn't untrue. "Look, we're not your enemy. Our commanding officer is talking to your father about peace. Truth is, we don't want war.". Taria paused to think about that. "But if I get permission, I'll show you around."
"I would appreciate it. Thank you."
End of chapter 10
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